Feeding habits of asteroids, Luidia quinaria and Astropecten scoparius, in Ise Bay, Central Japan

Abstract

Feeding habits of the two asteroids dominant in Ise Bay, Luidia quinaria and Astropecten scoparius, were examined as regards their temporal and spatial distributions and also the oxygen-poor water in the bay, based on megabenthos samples collected in the bay from November 1996 to November 1997. Luidia quinaria was distributed widely in the whole part of the bay while A. scoparius was mainly found in the southern part around the bay mouth area. Analysis of the stomach contents of these asteroids demonstrated that L. quinaria preferred to ingest echinoderm, particularly an ophiuroid, Ophiura kinbergi, that occupied approximately 60% of the percentage total food items; while the stomach contents of A. scoparius were dominated by molluscs, a minute gastropod Voorwindia paludinoides and a bivalve Alvenius ojianus, which occupied approximately 59% and 33% of the percentage of total food items, respectively. The differences in the feeding habits of these asteroids may be due to their distribution pattern, which may be determined by the differences in sediment characteristics. Distribution and feeding habits of L. quinaria in summer may be affected by the occurrence of oxygen-poor water.

Variaciones estacionales en el tamaño corporal y dieta de la estrella de mar Astropecten marginatus (Paxillosida, Astropectinidae) frente a la costa de Paraná, sur de Brasil

“…Furthermore, temporal differences in the amount of ingested items and in the food preferences have also been observed. in contrast to our results, higher number of consumed prey is usually observed during warm seasons and it is primarily associated to an increase of prey availability promoted by recruitment process of benthic community or an increase of feeding rates of sea stars (Christensen, 1970;Doi 1976;Ganmanee et al, 2003;Caregnato, Wiggers, Tarasconi & Veitenheimer-Mendes, 2009). Considering the temperature influence on animal metabolism, a faster feeding rate could result in a lower residence time of food items at sea star stomachs and thus, higher frequencies of empty stomachs or low amount of ingested items can be expected as observed in our results, especially if prey availability is low.…”

“…Regarding feeding behavior on the genus Astropecten, several studies conducted worldwide have found primarily mollusks, especially bivalves (Christensen, 1970;Penchaszadeh, 1973;Nojima, 1988Nojima, , 1989Freeman, Richardson & Seed, 1998;Brogger & Penchaszadeh, 2008;Loh & Todd, 2011) and gastropods (Soto, 2000, Ganmanee et al, 2003Juan, Cartes & Demestre, 2007) as main prey. The same feeding pattern has also been observed for A. marginatus inhabiting the Caribbean Sea (Soto, 1984;Ortega et al, 2011) and Brazil (Monteiro & Pardo, 1994).…”

“…They inhabit different types of substrates and have an important role as high-level predator in intertidal and subtidal communities (Jangoux, 1982;Ganmanee, Narita, iidas, & Sekiguchi, 2003).…”

Distribución, parámetros poblacionales y dieta de Astropecten marginatus (Asteroidea: Astropectinidae) en el Atlántico venezolano

“…Dieta: Se observó que los principales organismos ingeridos por A. marginatus fueron en cuanto a frecuencia numérica, los moluscos, principalmente bivalvos y gasterópodos, similar a lo encontrado por Bitter (1984Bitter ( , 2000 en Golfo Triste, Venezuela y en Brasil por Vala (2005) y Caregnato et al (2009. Estos organismos también han sido reportados como los principales componentes de la dieta de otras especies del género Astropecten (Wells et al 1961, Ribi et al 1977, Bitter et al 1980, Bitter & Penchaszadeh 1983, Ganmanee et al 2003, Wells & Lalli 2003.…”

“…Esta característica permite que se pueda conocer su dieta analizando el contenido estomacal del individuo (Lera 1980, Bitter & Penchaszadeh 1983, Vala 2005, Caregnato et al 2009. Muchos asteroideos han sido catalogados como carnívoros, y su depredación juega un papel importante en la estructura y función de las comunidades marinas bentónicas, llegando a ingerir incluso otros equinodermos (Hendler et al 1995, Ganmanee et al 2003, Vala 2005, Caregnato et al 2009). Los representantes de Astropecten han sido descritos como depredadores activos con una dieta generalista, aunque presentando preferencias por gastrópodos y bivalvos pequeños, siendo capaces de localizar presas enterradas y de excavar el sustrato para encontrarlas (Wells et al 1961, Lera 1980, Bitter & Penchaszadeh 1983, Penchaszadeh & Lera 1983, Gammanee et al 2003, Caregnato et al 2009.…”