Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-dh8gc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-12T19:46:43.089Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Food and feeding habits of Caranx crysos from the Gulf of Gabès (Tunisia)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 April 2009

Ayda Sley ,
Othman Jarboui ,
Mohamed Ghorbel  and
Abderrahmen Bouain
Ayda Sley*
Affiliation:
Institut National des Sciences et Technologies de la Mer (Centre de Sfax), BP, 1035,3018, Sfax, Tunisie
Othman Jarboui
Affiliation:
Institut National des Sciences et Technologies de la Mer (Centre de Sfax), BP, 1035,3018, Sfax, Tunisie
Mohamed Ghorbel
Affiliation:
Institut National des Sciences et Technologies de la Mer (Centre de Sfax), BP, 1035,3018, Sfax, Tunisie
Abderrahmen Bouain
Affiliation:
Faculté des Sciences de Sfax. BP, 802–3018 Sfax, Tunisie
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: A. Sley, Institut National des Sciences et Technologies de la Mer (Centre de Sfax), BP, 1035, 3018, Sfax, Tunisie email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The diet of blue runner Caranx crysos (Carangidae) in the Gulf of Gabès (Tunisia, Mediterranean) is described from analysis of stomach contents (N = 1668 fish). The majority of samples were obtained from commercial purse seine and gill-net catches. The index of vacuity (%VI) was relatively high (58.7%) and differed significantly across months. Blue runner is an opportunistic predator that consumes mostly pelagic organisms, with benthic prey representing only a small proportion of the diet. The diet was quantified using the frequency of occurrence (%F), numerical abundance (%N), weight (%W) and the index of relative importance (IRI and %IRI) for each prey taxa.

The most important prey categories were teleosts (%IRI = 83.4) and crustaceans (%IRI = 16.6), with molluscs only observed occasionally (%IRI < 0.1). Fish were also the dominant food items in both terms of weight (89.60%) and frequency of occurrence (82.44%). In terms of numerical abundance, crustaceans were the most abundant prey (78.07%). Ontogenetic and seasonal differences in the diet were observed, although there was no difference between the diets of males and females.

Keywords

CarangidaeCaranx crysosdietGulf of GabèsTunisiaMediterranean
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 89 , Issue 7 , November 2009 , pp. 1375 - 1380
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Ben Othmen, S. (1973) Le sud tunisien (golfe de Gabès), hydrologie, sédimentologie, flore et faune. PhD thesis. University of Tunis II, Faculty of Sciences of Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia.Google Scholar
Cervigon, F., Cipriani, R., Fisher, W., Garibaldi, L., Hendrickx, M., Lemus, A.J., Marquez, R., Poutiers, J.M., Robaina, G. and Rodriguez, B. (1993) Field guide to the commercial marine and brackish-water resources of the northern coast of South America. FAO species identification sheets for fishery purposes. Rome: FAO, 513 pp.Google Scholar
Chavance, P., Ba, I. and Krivospitchenko, S. (1991) Les petits poissons pélagiques côtiers de la Zone Economique Exclusive mauritanienne (ZEE). Bulletin du Centre National de Recherches Océanographiques et des Pêche (Mauritania) 23, 28–193.Google Scholar
Cortés, E. (1997) A critical review of methods of studying fish feeding based on analysis of stomach contents: application to elasmobranch fishes. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 54, 726–738.Google Scholar
Christmas, J.Y., Perry, A. and Waller, R.S. (1974) Investigations of coastal pelagic fishes. Completion report, NMFS, Project. 2-128-R. Ocean Springs, Mississippi: Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, 105 pp.Google Scholar
Fezzani, S. (2006) Etude biologique et dynamique des espèces du genre Trachurus des côtes tunisiennes. PhD thesis. University of Tunis II, Faculty of Sciences of Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia.Google Scholar
Fischer, W., Bauchot, M.L. and Schneider, M. (1987a) Fiches de la FAO d'identification des espèces pour les besoins de la pêche (Révision 1) Méditerranée et Mer Noire. Zone de pêche 37. I. Végétaux et Invertébrés. FAO: Rome, pp. 1–760.Google Scholar
Fischer, W., Bauchot, M.L. and Schneider, M. (1987b) Fiches de la FAO d'identification des espèces pour les besoins de la pêche (Révision 1) Méditerranée et Mer Noire. Zone de pêche 37. II. Vertébrés. FAO: Rome, pp. 761–1530.Google Scholar
Gaamour, A. (1999) La sardinelle ronde (Sardinella aurita, Valenciennes, 1847) dans les eaux tunisiennes: reproduction, croissance et pêche dans la région de Cap Bon. PhD thesis. Western Bretagne University, France.Google Scholar
Goodwin, J.M. IV. and Finucane, J.H. (1985) Reproductive biology of blue runner (Caranx crysos) from the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Northeast Gulf Science 7, 139–146.Google Scholar
Goodwin, J.M. IV. and Johnson, A.G. (1986) Age, growth, and mortality of blue runner, Caranx crysos, from the northern Gulf of Mexico. Northeast Gulf Science 8, 107–114.Google Scholar
Hacunda, J.S. (1981) Trophic relationships among demersal fishes in a coastal area of the Gulf of Maine. Fishery Bulletin 79, 775–788.Google Scholar
Hanson, J.M. and Chouinard, G.A. (2002) Diet of Atlantic cod in the southern Gulf of St Lawrence as an index of ecosystem change, 1959–2000. Journal of Fish Biology 60, 902–992.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hyslop, E.J. (1980) Stomach contents analysis—a review of methods and their application. Journal of Fish Biology 17, 411–429.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jennings, S., Pinnegar, J.K., Polunin, N.V.C. and Boon, T.W. (2001) Weak cross-species relationships between body size and trophic level belie powerful size-based trophic structuring in fish communities. Journal of Animal Ecology 70, 934–944.Google Scholar
Keenan, S.F. and Benfield, M.C. (2003) Importance of zooplankton in the diets of blue runner (Caranx crysos) near offshore petroleum platforms in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Coastal Fisheries Institute (ed.), Louisiana State University, US Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, New Orleans, LA. OCS Study MMS 2003-029, 129 pp.Google Scholar
McCormick, M.I. (1998) Ontogeny of diet shifts by a microcarnivorous fish, Cheilodactylus spectabilis, relationship between feeding mechanisms, microhabitat selection and growth. Marine Biology 132, 9–20.Google Scholar
McKenney, T.W., Alexander, E.C. and Voss, G.L. (1958) Early development and larval distribution of the carangid fish, Caranx crysos (Mitchill). Bulletin of Marine Science of the Gulf and Caribbean 8, 167–200.Google Scholar
Maigret, J. and Ly, B. (1986) Les poissons de mer de Mauritanie. Mauritanie: ed. Sciences Naturelles, 213 pp.Google Scholar
Marchal, E. (1991) Location of the main West Africa pelagic stock, les pêcheries oust Africaines: variabilités, instabilities et changement. ed. de l'OORSTOM. Institut Français de Recherches Scientifiques pour le Développement en Coopération, pp. 185–191.Google Scholar
Morato-Gomes, T., Sola, E., Gros, M.P., Menezes, G. and Pinho, M.R. (1998) Trophic relationships and feeding habits of demersal fishes from the Azores: importance to multispecies assessment. ICES CM 1998/O, 7, 21 pp.Google Scholar
Nakamura, Y., Horimonchi, M., Nakai, T. and Sano, M. (2003) Food habits of fishes in a seagrass bed on a fringing reef at Iriomote Island, Southern Japan. Ichthyology Resources 50, 15–22.Google Scholar
Overko, S.M. (1978) Morpho-biological characteristics of Caranx rhonchus in the eastern central Atlantic. COPACE/PACE SETS, No.10, 3 pp.Google Scholar
Piet, G.J. (1998) Ecomorphology of a size structured tropical freshwater fish community. Environmental Biology of Fishes 51, 67–86.Google Scholar
Pinkas, L., Oliphant, M.S. and Iverson, I.L.K. (1971) Food habits of albacore, bluefintuna and bonito in California waters. Fishery Bulletin 152, 1–105.Google Scholar
Randall, J.E. (1967) Food habits of reef fishes of the West Indies. Studies in Tropical Oceanography 5, 1–867.Google Scholar
Santic, M., Jardas, I. and Pallaoro, A. (2004) Feeding habits of horse mackerel, Trachurus trachurus (Linneaus, 1758), from the central Adriatic Sea. Journal of Applied Ichthyology 21, 125–130.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scheckter, R.C. (1972) Food habits of some larval and juvenile fishes from the Florida Current, near Miami, Florida. Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami. US Environment Protection Agency Technical Report, 85 pp.Google Scholar
Sley, A., Jarboui, O., Ghorbel, M. and Bouain, A. (2008) Diet composition and food habits of Caranx rhonchus (Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1817; Carangidae) from the Gulf of Gabès (Central Mediterranean). Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 88, 831–836.Google Scholar
Sokal, R.R. and Rohlf, F.J. (1981) Biometry. San Francisco, CA: W.H. Freeman and Co.Google Scholar
Sonnier, F., Teerling, J. and Hoese, H.D. (1976) Observations on the offshore reef and platform fish fauna of Louisiana. Copeia 1976, 105–111.Google Scholar
Stanley, D.R. and Wilson, C.A. (1997) Seasonal and spatial variation in the abundance and size distribution of fishes associated with a petroleum platform in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 54, 1166–1176.Google Scholar
Stanley, D.R. and Wilson, C.A. (2000) Variation in the density and species composition of fishes associated with three petroleum platforms using dual beam hydroacoustics. Fisheries Research 47, 161–172.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Swaby, S.E., Potts, G.W. and Lees, J. (1996) The first records of the blue runner Caranx crysos (Pisces: Carangidae) in British waters. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 76, 543–544.Google Scholar