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Daily and seasonal feeding rhythmicity of Palaemonetes varians (Leach 1814) from southwestern Europe

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Abstract

The feeding activity rhythm of Palaemonetes varians (Leach 1814) was studied by collecting stomachs over a 24-h cycle in four different seasons of 1996 and spring–summer of 1997 to assess a regulation of this behaviur dependent upon seasonal variations in photoperiod length. A total of 6,692 stomachs were collected from a population reared in an extensive earthen pond located in the Guadalquivir Estuary salt marshes (Spain). Stomach fullness (f) classification was performed with a stereomicroscope by means of a four-point visual qualitative scale. Results showed that a high proportion of stomachs were empty in all seasons considered and a great variability in the data occurred irrespective of the time of the day. The number of full stomachs at each catch were represented over 24-h for each sampling season. Time series showed the occurrence of a feeding activity rhythm phased at day–night transitions. The sunset peak occurred in all months of sampling, while the sunrise one occurred in summer. Results are discussed in relation to available data on behavior, moulting, and reproduction of this and other species of the same genus.

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Acknowledgements

We wish to express our gratitude to S. Algarín, M. del Río, N. Mazuelos, S. Hernández, M. Ruiz, and to the manager and the rest of the staff of Pesquerías Isla Mayor S.A. (PIMSA) for providing facilities during sampling. We also express our gratitude to Dr R. Sforza (Fideuram) for advice during the manuscript preparation. The second author (JAC) was funded during the field sampling by OTRI Research Fellowship (founded by MEC), and is now currently sponsored by the “Ramón y Cajal” Fellowship (MEC). The experiments presented in this work comply with the current laws of Spain.

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  1. J. Aguzzi

    Present address: Insitut de Ciencies del Mar (ICM-CSIC), Passeig Maritim de la Barceloneta 37-49, 08003, Barcelona, Spain

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neuroscience Institute, Morehouse School of Medicine, 720 Westview Drive, S.W. Atlanta, GA, 30310, USA

    J. Aguzzi

  2. Instituto de Ciencias Marinas de Andalucìa (CSIC), Avenida Republica Saharaui, 2-11510, Puerto Real (Cádiz), Spain

    J. A. Cuesta

  3. Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Biología de Sevilla, Universidad de Sevilla, Apdo 1095, 41080, Sevilla, Spain

    M. Librero & J. Toja

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  1. J. Aguzzi
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  2. J. A. Cuesta
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  3. M. Librero
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  4. J. Toja
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Correspondence to J. Aguzzi.

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Communicated by P. W. Sammarco, Chauvin

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Aguzzi, J., Cuesta, J.A., Librero, M. et al. Daily and seasonal feeding rhythmicity of Palaemonetes varians (Leach 1814) from southwestern Europe. Marine Biology 148, 141–147 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-005-0025-2

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