Premium
Predation by Moses perch, Lutjanus russelli, and blue‐spotted trevally, Caranx bucculentus, on juvenile brown tiger prawn, Penaeus esculentus: effects of habitat structure and time of day
Author(s) -
Laprise R.,
Blaber S. J. M.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
journal of fish biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.672
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1095-8649
pISSN - 0022-1112
DOI - 10.1111/j.1095-8649.1992.tb02610.x
Subject(s) - biology , seagrass , fishery , predation , prawn , perch , juvenile , tiger , habitat , nursery habitat , ecology , fish <actinopterygii> , computer security , computer science
The effects of habitat structure and time of day on predation success of Moses perch, Lutjanus russelli , and blue‐spotted trevally, Caranx bucculentus , feeding on juvenile brown tiger prawn, Penaeus esculentus , were tested in the laboratory. Our experiments demonstrated that both softsubstratum, in which prawns can burrow, and seagrass habitats reduce predation rates by fish during daytime when compared to hard‐substratum habitats. However, the protection offered by burrowing in a soft substratum during daytime disappears at night when prawns become active and are more available to fish. Seagrass structure offers the same protection during both night and day. This is attributed to the structural complexity of the seagrass habitat, as well as the behaviour and disruptive coloration of the prawns. The results suggest that fish predation on juvenile P. esculentus may not be very important in seagrass nurseries but could be very high in other habitats.