Diet of two species of fish family Cichlidae (Astronotus ocellatus and Cichla pinima) introduced in the Paraguaçu River, Bahia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5007/2175-7925.2014v27n4p83Abstract
Analysis of the diet of introduced fish species allows us to understand their trophic position in the community, their level of predation, and possibly to identify the if and when they act as competitors and/or predators. This paper aims to describe the diet of the tucunaré, Cichla pinima, and of the apanhari, Astronotus ocellatus. Both species originated from the Amazon basin and were introduced into the Paraguaçu River. Ninety-two specimens were analyzed, and both species showed a diversified diet composed of 20 different food types. For C. pinima, fish (IAi = 35.2%) Ephemeroptera insects (IAi = 31.7%) and molluscs (IAi = 21.2%) were the most important food types. Ephemeropteran insects were highly prevalent in the diet of A. ocellatus, corresponding to over 98% of IAi. The high prevalence of insects in the diet may be related to the high number of juveniles among the specimens analyzed. The presence of native fish in the stomach contents of tucunarés deserves particular attention, because the voracity of this fish can lead to extinction of native species.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
After the electronic publication of the manuscript, the authors are entitled, without any restriction, on its contents.
License Creative Commons Atribuição 4.0 Internacional - CC BY
Authors are able to take on additional contracts separately, non-exclusive distribution of the version of the paper published in this journal (ex.: publish in institutional repository or as a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.

