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Diet and feeding relationships of two Iberian cyprinids
Author(s) -
COELHO M.M.,
MARTINS M.J.,
COLLARESPEREIRA M.J.,
PIRES A.M.,
COWX I.G.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
fisheries management and ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.693
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1365-2400
pISSN - 0969-997X
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2400.1997.d01-165.x
Subject(s) - rutilus , biology , invertebrate , foraging , trophic level , leuciscus , ecology , zoology , larva , nocturnal , cyprinidae , nymph , temperate climate , fishery , fish <actinopterygii>
The diet and feeding interactions of the Iberian roach, Rutilus alburnoides (Steindachner), and chub, Leuciscus pyrenaicus Günther, were studied in the Sorraia river system. Seasonal shifts in the diets were examined to determine trophic overlap between the two species. Dipteran larvae were the dominant item in the diet of roach with the exception of summer and early autumn when dipteran adults became important. Ephemeroptera nymphs and imagos were the two principal food categories in chub diet. Plant material and terrestrial insects were consumed by both species mostly in the summer and autumn, periods of low availability of aquatic invertebrates in temperate streams. A low dietary overlap was found, probably resulting from differences in their seasonal foraging activity, but also from a compromise between the consumption of highly abundant plant material and rare animal food items.