Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Shifts of the feeding niche along the size dimension of three juvenile fish species in a tidal mudflat in southeastern Brazil

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Marine Biology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The diet of three cooccurring abundant fish species (Eucinostomus argenteus, Diapterus rhombeus and Micropogonias furnieri) and its ontogenetic changes in a mudflat area of a tropical bay in southeastern Brazil were described. The working hypothesis is that these three species shift the use of the available resources throughout their growth. Early juveniles of D. rhombeus and M. furnieri fed mainly on Cyclopoida copepods, shifting to Nematoda (D. rhombeus) and errant Polychaeta (M. furnieri) as they increased in size. In contrast, the early life stages of E. argenteus fed mainly on errant Polychaeta and Calanoida copepods, with increasing niche breadth as they grew. The relative degree of individual specialisation in resource use indicated specialism for M. furnieri and E. argenteus, and generalism for D. rhombeus. The largest intraspecific overlap was found for the smallest size classes. Niche breadth increased during ontogeny, with a higher average niche breadth at lower prey length/predator length ratios. Therefore, species-specific differences in diet across the resource gradient and increased niche breadth during ontogeny characterised the shifts of resource use, and probably account for the coexistence of these species in zones of sympatry in mudflat areas of southeastern Brazil.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Araújo FG, Santos ACA (1999) Distribution and recruitment of mojarras (Perciformes, Gerreidae) in the continental margin of Sepetiba Bay, Brazil. Bull Mar Sci 65:431–439

    Google Scholar 

  • Araújo FG, Azevedo MCC, Silva MA, Pessanha ALM, Gomes ID, Cruz-Filho AG (2002) Environmental influences on the demersal fish assemblages in the Sepetiba Bay, Brazil. Estuaries 25:441–450

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bolnick DI, Yang LH, Fordyce JA, Davis JM, Svanback R (2002) Measuring individual-level resource specialization. Ecology 83:2936–2941

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bolnick DI, Svanback R, Fordyce JA, Yang LH, Davis JM, Hulsey CD, Forister ML (2003) The ecology of individuals: incidence and implications of individual specialization. Am Nat 161:1–28

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brusca RC, Brusca GJ (2002) Invertebrates, 2nd edn. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland

    Google Scholar 

  • Cabral HN (2000) Comparative feeding ecology of sympatric Solea solea and S. senegalensis, within the nursery areas of the Tagus estuary, Portugal. J Fish Biol 57:1550–1562

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clarke KR (1993) Non-parametric multivariate analyses of changes in community structure. Aust J Ecol 18:117–143

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Costa MR, Araújo FG (2003) Use of a tropical bay in Southeastern Brazil by juvenile and subadult Micropogonias furnieri (Perciformes, Sciaenidae). ICES J Mar Sci 60:268–277

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cyrus DP, Blaber SJM (1983) Diet of Gerres fry in the Kosi system. S Afr J Zool 18:403–406

    Google Scholar 

  • Degre D, Leguerrier D, Armynot du Chatelet E, Rzeznik J, Auguet J, Dupuy J, Marquis E, Fichet D, Struski D, Joyeux D, Sauriau P, Niquil N (2006) Comparative analysis of the food webs of two intertidal mudflats during two seasons using inverse modelling: Aiguillon Cove and Brouage Mudflat, France. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 69:107–124

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Florin A, Lavados G (2010) Feeding habits of juvenile flatfish in relation to habitat characteristics in the Baltic Sea. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 86:607–612

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gning G, Loc’h F, Thiawc OT, Aliaume C, Vidy G (2010) Estuarine resources use by juvenile Flagfin mojarra (Eucinostomus melanopterus) in an inverse tropical estuary (Sine Saloum, Senegal). Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 86:683–691

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Guedes APP, Araujo FG (2008) Trophic resource partitioning among five flatfish species (Actinopterygii, Pleuronectiformes) in a tropical bay in south-eastern Brazil. J Fish Biol 72:1035–1054

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gurevitch J, Morrow LL, Wallace A, Walsh JS (1992) A meta-analysis of competition in field experiments. Am Nat 140:539–572

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hajisamae S (2009) Trophic ecology of bottom fishes assemblage along coastal areas of Thailand. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 82:503–514

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hajisamae S, Chou LM, Ibrahim S (2003) Feeding habits and trophic organization of the fishes community in shallow waters of a impacted tropical habitat. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 58:89–98

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hobson ES, Chess JR (1986) Relationships among fishes and their prey in a nearshore sand community of southern California. Environ Biol Fish 17:201–226

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holbrook SJ, Schmitt RJ (1992) Causes and consequences of dietary specialization in surf perches, patch choice and intra-specific competition. Ecology 73:402–412

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hourston M, Platell ME, Valensini FJ, Potter IC (2004) Factors influencing the diets of four morphologically divergent fish species in nearshore marine waters. J Mar Biol Assoc UK 84:805–817

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hyslop EJ (1980) Stomach contents analysis—a review of methods and their application. J Fish Biol 17:411–429

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kanou K, Sano M, Kohno H (2004) Food habits of fishes on unvegetated tidal mudflats in Tokyo Bay, central Japan. Fish Sci 70:978–987

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kerschner BA, Peterson MS, Gilmore RG (1985) Ecotopic and ontogenetic trophic variations in mojarras (Pisces: Gerreidae). Estuaries 8:311–322

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krebs CJ (1989) Ecological methodology. Harper and Row Publishers, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Labropoulou M, Eleftheriou A (1997) The foraging ecology of two pairs of congeneric demersal fish species: importance of morphological characteristics in prey selection. J Fish Biol 50:324–340

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meng L, Powell JC (2003) Linking juvenile fish and their habitats: an example from Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island. Estuaries 22:905–916

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mittelbach GG, Osenberg CW, Leibold MA (1988) Trophic relations and ontogenetic niche shifts in aquatic ecosystems. In: Ebenman B, Persson L (eds) Size-structured populations. Springer, Berlin, pp 219–235

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Muñoz AA, Ojeda FP (1998) Guild structure of carnivorous intertidal of the Chilean coast: implications of ontogenetic dietary shifts. Oecologia 114:563–573

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ojeda FP, Dearborn JH (1991) Feeding ecology of benthic mobile predators: experimental analysis of their influence in rocky subtidal communities of the Gulf of Maine. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 149:13–44

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olson MH (1996) Ontogenetic niche shifts in largemouth bass: variability and consequences for first-year growth. Ecology 77:179–190

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olson MH, Mittelbach GG, Osenberg CW (1995) Competition between predator and prey: resource-based mechanisms and implications for stage-structured dynamics. Ecology 76:1758–1771

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Osenberg CW, Mittelbach GG, Wainwright PC (1992) Two-stage life histories in fish: the interaction between juvenile competition and adult performance. Ecology 73:255–267

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paterson AW, Whitfield AK (2000) Do shallow-water habitats function as refugia for juvenile fishes? Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 51:359–364

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pessanha ALM, Araújo FG (2003) Spatial, temporal and diel variations of fish assemblage at two sandy beaches in the Sepetiba Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 57:817–828

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pessanha ALM, Araújo FG, Azevedo MCC, Gomes ID (2003) Diel and seasonal changes in the distribution of fish on a southeast Brazil sandy beach. Mar Biol 143:1047–1055

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pinkas L, Oliphant MS, Iverson ILK (1971) Food habits of albacore, bluefin tuna and bonito in California waters. Calif Fish Game 152:1–105

    Google Scholar 

  • Platell ME, Potter IC (2001) Partitioning of food resources amongst 18 abundant benthic carnivorous fish species in marine waters on the lower west coast of Australia. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 261:31–54

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ross ST (1978) Trophic ontogeny of the leopard searobin, Prionotus scitulus (Pisces: Triglidae). Fish Bull NOAA 76:225–234

    Google Scholar 

  • Ross ST (1986) Resource partitioning in fish assemblages: a review of field studies. Copeia 1986:352–388

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roughgarden J (1972) Evolution of niche width. Am Nat 106:683–718

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schafer LN, Platell ME, Valesini FJ, Potter IC (2002) Comparisons between the influence of habitat type, season and body size on the dietary compositions of fish species in nearshore marine waters. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 278:67–92

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scharf FS, Juanes F, Rountree RA (2000) Predator size—prey size relationships of marine fish predators: interspecific variation and effects of ontogeny and body size on trophic-niche breadth. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 208:229–248

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schmitt RJ, Coyer JA (1982) The foraging ecology of sympatric marine fish in the genus Embiotoca (Embiotocidae): importance of foraging behavior in prey size selection. Oecologia 55:369–378

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schoener TW (1971) Theory of feeding strategies. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 2:369–404

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schoener TW (1974) Resource partitioning in ecological communities. Science 185:27–39

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Signorini SR (1980) A study of the circulation in bay of Ilha Grande and bay of Sepetiba, Part I. A survey of the circulation based on experimental field data. Bol Inst Ocean 29:41–55

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stephens DW, Krebs JR (1986) Foraging theory. Princeton University Press, Princeton

    Google Scholar 

  • Svanbäck R, Bolnick D (2007) Intraspecific competition drives increased resource use diversity within a natural population. P Roy Soc Lond B Biol 274:839–844

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taper ML, Case TJ (1985) Quantitative genetic models for the coevolution of character displacement. Ecology 66:355–371

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uiblein F (1991) Food searching decisions in four cyprinid species. Environ Biol Fish 33:47–52

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Valen L (1965) Morphological variation and the width of ecological niche. Am Nat 99:377–389

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vicentini RN, Araújo FG (2003) Sex ratio and size structure of Micropogonias furnieri (Desmarest) (Pisces: Sciaenidae) in the Sepetiba Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Braz J Biol 63:559–566

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vinagre C, França S, Cabral NH (2006) Diel and semi-lunar patterns in the use of an intertidal mudflat by juveniles of Senegal sole, Solea senegalensis. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 69:246–254

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Werner EE, Gilliam JF (1984) The ontogenetic niche and species interactions in size structured populations. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 15:393–425

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wootton RJ (1990) Ecology of teleost fishes. Chapman and Hall, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Zahorcsak P, Silvano RAM, Sazima I (2000) Feeding biology of a guild of benthivorous fishes in a sandy shore on the south-eastern Brazilian coast. Rev Bras Biol 60:510–511

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Iracema David Gomes, Ana Paula Penha Guedes and Márcia Cristina Costa Azevedo for helping in fieldwork. This work was financially supported by CNPq—Brazilian National Agency for Scientific and Technological Development (Proc. 302878/05-0 and 302555/08-0) and FAPERJ (Rio de Janeiro State Agency for Research Development (Proc. E-26/170.258/01).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Estadual da Paraíba, Campus I, Av. Baraúnas, 351, Bodocongó, Campina Grande, PB, 5109-753, Brazil

    André Luiz Machado Pessanha

  2. Laboratório de Ecologia de Peixes, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, BR 465, Km 7, Seropédica, RJ, 23890-000, Brazil

    Francisco Gerson Araújo

Authors
  1. André Luiz Machado Pessanha
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Francisco Gerson Araújo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Francisco Gerson Araújo.

Additional information

Communicated by K. D. Clements.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Pessanha, A.L.M., Araújo, F.G. Shifts of the feeding niche along the size dimension of three juvenile fish species in a tidal mudflat in southeastern Brazil. Mar Biol 161, 543–550 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-013-2356-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-013-2356-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation