Feeding and spatial distribution of two estuarine puffer fish in a tropical estuary, north-eastern Brazil

Abstract

The distribution and feeding ecology of two puffer fish, Sphoeroides testudineus (Linnaeus, 1758) and Colomesus psittacus (Bloch & Schneider, 1801), were investigated in a tropical estuary (north-eastern Brazil). The hypothesis tested was that these two species partition available resources spatially, and that the effects of interspecific competition can be reduced by changes in the feeding strategy and using alternative resources. This study was carried out between February 2011 and January 2012, on a beach and three tidal creeks of the Mamanguape River estuary. Data on the distribution and relative abundance of the two species were collected using beach seine, with data on temperature, salinity and turbidity also recorded. The diets of the species (S. testudineus N = 399; C. psittacus N = 108) were analysed by the Index of Relative Importance (IRI). Sphoeroides testudineus was found in the entire area, but was particularly abundant in the upper estuary, while C. psittacus was captured exclusively in the upper estuary, with all individuals assumed to be juveniles. In regard to feeding, juvenile S. testudineus predated on Bivalves, Ceratopogonidae larvae, calanoids and gastropods; whilst C. psittacus showed a diet more specialized in Brachyura and Cirripedia. These results suggest that there are differences in both habitat utilization and feeding habits of these two puffer fish species in this estuary.

Diet and histological features of digestive tube from four discarded fish species by trawl bycatch in Northeastern Brazil

“…In the Potiguar basin, diet of S. testudineus was mainly composed by bivalves and echinoderms (order Clypeasteroida). A previous study reported bivalves (especially in the juvenile life-stage), Ceratopogonidae larvae, calanoids, gasthropods, ostracods, cyclopoids, decapods, and barnacles as food items (Araújo et al 2016). The species studied were considered carnivorous and their diet composition, based on benthic, demersal and pelagic animals, can influence their position in the water column as stated by Wootton (1989).…”

Does environmental heterogeneity explain β diversity of estuarine fish assemblages? Example from a tropical estuary under the influence of a semiarid climate, Brazil

“…These results were consistent with other studies in Mamanguape estuary to investigate spatial patterns of fish assemblages [ 60 , 73 ]. Similarly, Araújo et al [ 74 ] reported that the mojarra fish species (Gerreidae) used spatial segregation in the use of habitats along the estuarine gradient, while Araújo et al [ 75 ] indicated the environmental variations influencing the distribution of two puffer fish species ( S . testudineus and Colomesus psittacus ).…”

Biodiversity, ecology, fisheries, and use and trade of Tetraodontiformes fishes reveal their socio‐ecological significance along the tropical Brazilian continental shelf

“…Matsuura, ), feeding behaviour (e.g. Araújo, Costa, Duarte, & Pessanha, ), and distribution (e.g. Veeruraj, Arumugam, Ajithkumar, & Balasubramanian, ).…”