Prey regurgitation in the grouper<i>Cephalopholis argus</i>

Dierking, Jan; Meyer, Amanda

doi:10.1111/j.1439-0426.2009.01275.x

Cited by 7 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Moorea is the island from where C. argus was introduced to Hawaii in 1956 and 1961. Fish were collected by spearfishing from the outer reefs at depths ranging from 10 to 35 m. Following the approach of Dierking and Meyer (2009) to estimate regurgitation, each fish was individually enclosed within a sealed Ziploc® plastic bag immediately upon collection (i.e., underwater). In the few cases in which regurgitation occurred before sealing, regurgitated items were collected from the water column and included in the specimen's bag.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They found that the high stomach vacuity (i.e., prevalence of empty stomachs) of 58.6% observed in a sample of 285 C. argus specimens obtained by spearfishing using SCUBA in Hawaii was in large parts a characteristic of feeding ecology and not an artefact of regurgitation (Dierking and Meyer 2009). Specifically, the authors showed that the true vacuity rate was 44.9%, whereas only 13.7% of empty stomachs were artefacts of regurgitation (i.e., should have been counted as full).…”

mentioning

confidence: 97%

“…In a recent publication, Dierking and Meyer (2009) provided the first quantitative estimate of regurgitation for a grouper species (Cephalopholis argus). They found that the high stomach vacuity (i.e., prevalence of empty stomachs) of 58.6% observed in a sample of 285 C. argus specimens obtained by spearfishing using SCUBA in Hawaii was in large parts a characteristic of feeding ecology and not an artefact of regurgitation (Dierking and Meyer 2009).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Prey regurgitation and stomach vacuity among groupers and snappers

Vignon

Dierking

2011

Environ Biol Fish

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International audiencePrey regurgitation during capture is a potential important confounding effect in fish dietary ecology studies as it may lead to overestimation of stomach vacuity and underestimation of prey consumption. This study investigates patterns of prey regurgitation and stomach vacuity among five grouper and three snapper species in shallow water off French Polynesia and tests the effectiveness of piercing swim-bladders after capture as a method to prevent regurgitation. Groupers exhibited a moderate overall regurgitation rate of 15.6% of full stomachs and a high true (i.e., after accounting for regurgitation) stomach vacuity rate of 40.5%. In contrast, snappers showed high regurgitation (mean 31.7%) and low true stomach vacuity (14.6%). Not accounting for regurgitation would have resulted in a moderate overestimation of stomach vacuity in groupers, but an almost 3-fold overestimation in snappers. Swim-bladder decompression by piercing after capture prove a highly effective method to reduce regurgitation (more than 2-fold for groupers and near 8-fold for snappers). This study enables a more general understanding of prey regurgitation in two commercially valuable fish families, thus improving understanding of the dietary ecology of these fishes. This information is particularly important in the context of prey consumption estimates and subsequent estimations of the impact of fish predators on ecosystems

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 97%

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confidence: 99%

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Prey regurgitation and stomach vacuity among groupers and snappers

Vignon

Dierking

2011

Environ Biol Fish

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“…Initially introduced to the islands of Oahu and Hawaii, it has since spread to all of the MHI, and has become the domi nant apex predator on many reefs ). Concern about potential negative effects of this -in evolutionary terms -new predation source on native Hawaiian reef fish assemblages, which have evolved without shallow water groupers, have resulted in recent investigations of the feeding ecology of C. argus in the MHI (Dierking & Meyer 2009). However, comparisons of the ecology of this species in native and nonnative habitats are lacking to date.…”

Section: Abstract: Competitive Release · Ecological Release · Intersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…All collections were conducted during daytime on the reef slope at depths between 3 and 30 m by SCUBA divers using spears. Speared fish were placed immediately into ziploc bags while still under water to prevent loss of stomach contents from regurgitation, which is common in C. argus (Dierking & Meyer 2009), and were placed on ice immediately after completion of the dive.…”

Section: Study Locations and Collectionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Elevated size and body condition and altered feeding ecology of the grouper Cephalopholis argus in non-native habitats

Meyer¹,

Dierking²

2011

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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In 1956, the shallow-water grouper Cephalopholis argus was introduced from Moorea (French Polynesia), where grouper diversity (14 species) is high, to the Main Hawaiian Islands (MHI), where only 2 rare native deep-water groupers occur. In this non-native environment, the species has flourished and has become the dominant apex predator on many reefs. In the present study, a comparison of non-native populations of C. argus in the MHI with native populations in Moorea showed that mean total length (32.0 vs. 26.9 cm), mass (722 vs. 326 g), growth, and body condition were each significantly elevated in the MHI. In addition, while an ontogenetic shift towards larger prey occurred in both locations, it was faster and more consistent in Moorea than in the MHI. As a result, while small C. argus of comparable size in the 2 locations consumed similar-sized prey, large C. argus in Moorea consumed significantly longer and deeper-bodied prey than their counterparts in the MHI. This pattern was unrelated to the size distributions of available prey and may thus reflect stronger intra-and interspecific competition for small prey in Moorea. Although ecological release in a broader sense (i.e. a combination of predator release, parasite release, and competitive release) may play a role, the most direct explanation for the observed differences between C. argus in native habitats in Moorea (with many competing grouper species) and non-native habitats in the MHI (few competitors) would be competitive release (here used in the sense of benefits resulting from the reduction of interspecific competition). KEY WORDS: Competitive release · Ecological release · Interspecific competition · Niche shift · Invasive species · Peacock hind · Main Hawaiian Islands · Moorea (French Polynesia)Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisher Mar Ecol Prog Ser 439: 203-212, 2011 204 Due to their geographic and hydrographic isolation, the Main Hawaiian Islands (MHI hereafter) have a unique assemblage of coral reef and shore fish species, with one of the highest rates of endemism (~25%) in the world (Randall 2007). Compared to most tropical Pacific locations, several fish families are underrepresented or completely absent from the shallow inshore reefs of the MHI. Among these is the family Serranidae, specifically the subfamily Epinephelinae, or groupers (Randall 1987). In 1956, the grouper species peacock hind, Cephalopholis argus, was introduced into this environment from Moorea, French Polynesia (where it is known as 'roi') (see Fig. 1) in an attempt to create a grouper fishery (Oda & Parrish 1981, Randall 1987. Initially introduced to the islands of Oahu and Hawaii, it has since spread to all of the MHI, and has become the domi nant apex predator on many reefs ). Concern about potential negative effects of this -in evolutionary terms -new predation source on native Hawaiian reef fish assemblages, which have evolved without shallow water groupers, have resulted in recent investigations of the feeding ecolo...

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