Diet composition and feeding strategy of the southern pipefish Syngnathus folletti in a Widgeon grass bed of the Patos Lagoon Estuary, RS, Brazil

Detalhes bibliográficos
Autor(a) principal: Garcia,Alexandre M.
Data de Publicação: 2005
Outros Autores: Geraldi,Ricardo M., Vieira,João P.
Tipo de documento: Artigo
Idioma: eng
Título da fonte: Neotropical ichthyology (Online)
Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1679-62252005000300011
Resumo: Pipefish species are poorly known representatives of the family Syngnathidae, which have been increasingly threatened by anthropogenic activities. We describe the diet composition and feeding strategy of southern pipefish Syngnathus folletti inhabiting a Widgeon grass (Ruppia maritima L.) bed in the estuarine zone of Patos Lagoon, southern Brazil. We also investigated whether mouth gape affected the size of prey items consumed and based on indirect evidence, we suggest possible pipefish foraging movements within the bed. Individuals were collected from December 1994 to March 1995 in a Ruppia maritima bed located in the Patos Lagoon Estuary during day and night periods. We analyzed the stomach contents of 108 individuals (54 females and 54 males). Both genders seemed to be diurnal carnivores with diets composed primarily of copepods and isopods. Mixed feeding strategies were evident with varying degrees of specialization on different prey types. Females had a more diverse diet both in prey richness as in prey size range, whereas males fed primarily on smaller prey, the isopod U. peterseni and copepods. Gender-based diet differences suggest that females may be more mobile and active inside the Widgeon grass bed than males. The average size range of the two dominant prey items fitted well to the pipefish mouth gape (0.4 to 1.4mm). However, a few female individuals were able to consume prey three times larger than their maximum gape. A diagram of prey microhabitat suggested that both genders browse and capture invertebrates over the entire vegetated substrate provided by the Widgeon grass bed.
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spelling Diet composition and feeding strategy of the southern pipefish Syngnathus folletti in a Widgeon grass bed of the Patos Lagoon Estuary, RS, BrazilSyngnathidaeRuppia maritimafeeding ecologysize-biased feedingprey sizePipefish species are poorly known representatives of the family Syngnathidae, which have been increasingly threatened by anthropogenic activities. We describe the diet composition and feeding strategy of southern pipefish Syngnathus folletti inhabiting a Widgeon grass (Ruppia maritima L.) bed in the estuarine zone of Patos Lagoon, southern Brazil. We also investigated whether mouth gape affected the size of prey items consumed and based on indirect evidence, we suggest possible pipefish foraging movements within the bed. Individuals were collected from December 1994 to March 1995 in a Ruppia maritima bed located in the Patos Lagoon Estuary during day and night periods. We analyzed the stomach contents of 108 individuals (54 females and 54 males). Both genders seemed to be diurnal carnivores with diets composed primarily of copepods and isopods. Mixed feeding strategies were evident with varying degrees of specialization on different prey types. Females had a more diverse diet both in prey richness as in prey size range, whereas males fed primarily on smaller prey, the isopod U. peterseni and copepods. Gender-based diet differences suggest that females may be more mobile and active inside the Widgeon grass bed than males. The average size range of the two dominant prey items fitted well to the pipefish mouth gape (0.4 to 1.4mm). However, a few female individuals were able to consume prey three times larger than their maximum gape. A diagram of prey microhabitat suggested that both genders browse and capture invertebrates over the entire vegetated substrate provided by the Widgeon grass bed.Sociedade Brasileira de Ictiologia2005-09-01info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersiontext/htmlhttp://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1679-62252005000300011Neotropical Ichthyology v.3 n.3 2005reponame:Neotropical ichthyology (Online)instname:Sociedade Brasileira de Ictiologia (SBI)instacron:SBI10.1590/S1679-62252005000300011info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessGarcia,Alexandre M.Geraldi,Ricardo M.Vieira,João P.eng2007-12-12T00:00:00Zoai:scielo:S1679-62252005000300011Revistahttp://www.ufrgs.br/ni/https://old.scielo.br/oai/scielo-oai.php||neoichth@nupelia.uem.br1982-02241679-6225opendoar:2007-12-12T00:00Neotropical ichthyology (Online) - Sociedade Brasileira de Ictiologia (SBI)false
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Diet composition and feeding strategy of the southern pipefish Syngnathus folletti in a Widgeon grass bed of the Patos Lagoon Estuary, RS, Brazil
title Diet composition and feeding strategy of the southern pipefish Syngnathus folletti in a Widgeon grass bed of the Patos Lagoon Estuary, RS, Brazil
spellingShingle Diet composition and feeding strategy of the southern pipefish Syngnathus folletti in a Widgeon grass bed of the Patos Lagoon Estuary, RS, Brazil
Garcia,Alexandre M.
Syngnathidae
Ruppia maritima
feeding ecology
size-biased feeding
prey size
title_short Diet composition and feeding strategy of the southern pipefish Syngnathus folletti in a Widgeon grass bed of the Patos Lagoon Estuary, RS, Brazil
title_full Diet composition and feeding strategy of the southern pipefish Syngnathus folletti in a Widgeon grass bed of the Patos Lagoon Estuary, RS, Brazil
title_fullStr Diet composition and feeding strategy of the southern pipefish Syngnathus folletti in a Widgeon grass bed of the Patos Lagoon Estuary, RS, Brazil
title_full_unstemmed Diet composition and feeding strategy of the southern pipefish Syngnathus folletti in a Widgeon grass bed of the Patos Lagoon Estuary, RS, Brazil
title_sort Diet composition and feeding strategy of the southern pipefish Syngnathus folletti in a Widgeon grass bed of the Patos Lagoon Estuary, RS, Brazil
author Garcia,Alexandre M.
author_facet Garcia,Alexandre M.
Geraldi,Ricardo M.
Vieira,João P.
author_role author
author2 Geraldi,Ricardo M.
Vieira,João P.
author2_role author
author
dc.contributor.author.fl_str_mv Garcia,Alexandre M.
Geraldi,Ricardo M.
Vieira,João P.
dc.subject.por.fl_str_mv Syngnathidae
Ruppia maritima
feeding ecology
size-biased feeding
prey size
topic Syngnathidae
Ruppia maritima
feeding ecology
size-biased feeding
prey size
description Pipefish species are poorly known representatives of the family Syngnathidae, which have been increasingly threatened by anthropogenic activities. We describe the diet composition and feeding strategy of southern pipefish Syngnathus folletti inhabiting a Widgeon grass (Ruppia maritima L.) bed in the estuarine zone of Patos Lagoon, southern Brazil. We also investigated whether mouth gape affected the size of prey items consumed and based on indirect evidence, we suggest possible pipefish foraging movements within the bed. Individuals were collected from December 1994 to March 1995 in a Ruppia maritima bed located in the Patos Lagoon Estuary during day and night periods. We analyzed the stomach contents of 108 individuals (54 females and 54 males). Both genders seemed to be diurnal carnivores with diets composed primarily of copepods and isopods. Mixed feeding strategies were evident with varying degrees of specialization on different prey types. Females had a more diverse diet both in prey richness as in prey size range, whereas males fed primarily on smaller prey, the isopod U. peterseni and copepods. Gender-based diet differences suggest that females may be more mobile and active inside the Widgeon grass bed than males. The average size range of the two dominant prey items fitted well to the pipefish mouth gape (0.4 to 1.4mm). However, a few female individuals were able to consume prey three times larger than their maximum gape. A diagram of prey microhabitat suggested that both genders browse and capture invertebrates over the entire vegetated substrate provided by the Widgeon grass bed.
publishDate 2005
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2005-09-01
dc.type.driver.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
dc.type.status.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.uri.fl_str_mv http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1679-62252005000300011
url http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1679-62252005000300011
dc.language.iso.fl_str_mv eng
language eng
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv 10.1590/S1679-62252005000300011
dc.rights.driver.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv text/html
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Sociedade Brasileira de Ictiologia
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Sociedade Brasileira de Ictiologia
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv Neotropical Ichthyology v.3 n.3 2005
reponame:Neotropical ichthyology (Online)
instname:Sociedade Brasileira de Ictiologia (SBI)
instacron:SBI
instname_str Sociedade Brasileira de Ictiologia (SBI)
instacron_str SBI
institution SBI
reponame_str Neotropical ichthyology (Online)
collection Neotropical ichthyology (Online)
repository.name.fl_str_mv Neotropical ichthyology (Online) - Sociedade Brasileira de Ictiologia (SBI)
repository.mail.fl_str_mv ||neoichth@nupelia.uem.br
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