info:eu-repo/semantics/article
Gut contents of larval fishes from Iight trap and plankton net collections at Enmedio Reef near Veracruz, Mexico
Gut contents of larval fishes from Iight trap and plankton net collections at Enmedio Reef near Veracruz, Mexico
Autor
Riley, Cecilia M.
Holt, G. Joan
Institución
Resumen
Traditionally, it has been assumed that reef fish recruitment is a density dependent process determined by adult population size and resource limitations (Sale 1978). More recent ideas on factors regulating population size include the concept that reef populations are strongly influenced by pre-recruitment limitations (Victor 1986, Richards and Lindeman 1987, Doherty and Williams 1988). Variation in larval survival rates due to starvation can strongly affect year class strength. Finding appropriate planktonic prey within a few days of hatching is critical to larval survival. However, little is known about the diets of early (preflexion) larval reef fishes, thus studies of their feeding ecology would provide insight into survival and subsequent recruitment to reefs. A ma jor limitation to such studies has been the low yield of reef fish larvae in plankton tows (Victor 1986, Leis 1989). Light traps are an at tractive alternative since many fish larvae are attracted to light, and traps can be easily deployed in shallow reef sites. We conducted a study to examine the diets of tropical fish larvae collected by light traps and plankton tows at different habitats on a shallow coral reef. Our objective was to collect first feeding preflexion larvae and to identify prey organisms in their guts. This information is needed for our long term goal of culturing coral reef fishes in the laboratory. Se recolectaron larvas de pez en el arrecife Erunedio, México, conarrastres de red y trampas lumínicas, en tres tipos de hábitat: lecho de talaseas, arena y arrecife. Ambos métodos producen cantidades semejantes de ejemplares, pero las especies difieren. La red recolecta individuos más comunes en los arrecifes y las trampas solo funcionaron bien en el lecho de talasea. Los contenidos del tubo digestivo en 153 larvas de dos clases (3.0 y 5mm) mostraron que las larvas pequeñas se alimentan principalmente de tintinidos y dinoflagelados, las más grandes consumieron presas mayores, como crustáceos y huevos de invertebrado.