Feeding habits and diet overlap of juveniles of 2 sparids, Diplodus puntazzo (Walbaum, 1792) and Diplodus vulgaris (Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1817), from the North Aegean Sea of Turkey

Authors: AYTAÇ ALTIN, ÖZCAN ÖZEN, HAKAN AYYILDIZ, ADNAN AYAZ

Abstract: The stomach contents of juvenile sharpsnout seabream, Diplodus puntazzo, and juvenile two-banded seabream, Diplodus vulgaris, were investigated in order to determine feeding habits and diet overlap among them. Fish were collected from October 2008 to August 2009 using a beach seine net from the Çanakkale coasts of Turkey. A total of 129 juvenile D. puntazzo (ranging from 13 mm to 77 mm total length) and 951 D. vulgaris (ranging from 15 mm to 97 mm total length) were collected during the sampling periods in the study area. The stomach content analyses showed that the diet of both species mainly comprised copepods and amphipods. In addition, algae were found in the stomach contents. No significant differences were found between the feeding habits of juvenile D. vulgaris and D. puntazzo (ANOSIM; global R statistic = -0.0158; P > 0.05). An important overlap in the diet calculated using the Schoener index was recorded as 0.75 for D. puntazzo and D. vulgaris. Consequently, there was a significant diet overlap and competition for available resources among the feeding habits of D. vulgaris and D. puntazzo in juvenile periods.

Keywords: Diplodus vulgaris, Diplodus puntazzo, juvenile, feeding habits, diet overlap, North Aegean Sea, Çanakkale

Full Text: PDF