Artículos de revistas
Feeding habits of cobia in Pernambuco, northeastern Brazil
Hábito alimentar do beijupirá em Pernambuco, nordeste do Brasil
Fecha
2019-02-03Registro en:
Boletim do Instituto de Pesca, v. 45, n. 1, 2019.
0046-9939
1678-2305
10.20950/1678-2305.2019.45.1.379
2-s2.0-85067598714
Autor
Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco – UFRPE
Universidade Federal de Sergipe (UFS)
Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp)
Institución
Resumen
The feeding habits of cobia, Rachycentron canadum, was described along the coast of Pernambuco State, northeastern Brazil. One hundred ten specimens were caught between February 2004 and August 2006 with fork length ranging from 40.0 to 137.0 cm (mean and standard deviation: 85.8 ± 18.0 cm) and total weight between 0.4 and 29.8 kg (7.5 ± 4.4 kg). The importance of each food item in the diet was evaluated using the index of relative importance (IRI). Among the one hundred ten stomachs analyzed (52 females and 58 males), 92 (83.6%) had food items, while 18 (16.4%) were empty. Bony fish were the main food item (IRI = 98.7%), being squirrelfish (Holocentrus adscensionis) and porcupine fish (Diodon sp.) the most frequent prey items (30.7% and 8.2%, respectively). Elasmobranchs, crustaceans and cephalopods were also present in small proportions (IRI < 1% for each). No significant differences in diet were found between sexes or size classes (fork length: < or ≥ 69.8 cm; estimated L50 for the species). The present data demonstrate that cobia is a carnivorous predator along the coast of Pernambuco State, with a preference for demersal bony fish, independently of the size and sex of the individuals analyzed.