FEEDING ECOLOGY OF Astyanax lacustris (OSTEICHTHYES: CHARACIDAE) FROM LAGOA DO PIATÓ, ASSU, RIO GRANDE DO NORTE, BRAZIL

• Autor(a) principal: da Silva, Danyelle Alves
• Data de Publicação: 2012
• Outros Autores: Pessoa, Emilly Kataline Rodrigues, da Costa, Simone Almeida Gavilan Leandro, Chellappa, Naithirithi Tiruvenkatachary, Chellappa, Sathyabama
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Biota Amazônia
• Texto Completo: https://periodicos.unifap.br/index.php/biota/article/view/467

This study reports on the stomach content analyses of the Astyanax lacustris captured on a monthly basis from Lagoa do Piató, Assu, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, during the period of September, 2006 to August, 2007. The fish were captured using gillnets of4 cm mesh size. The total length, standard length, body mass and stomach weight were registered for each fish. The stomach contents analyses of 360 fishes were carried out based on volumetric method, points, frequency of occurrence and applying the Relative Importance Index. The degrees of repletion of the stomachs were determined and the Repletion Index was calculated. The diet variations and frequency of ingestion were related to the rainfall and limnological parameters. The food items identified were separated into distinct groups according to their origin. It is concluded that this species shows an omnivorous feeding habit with a tendency towards insectivory, with intensive feeding during the dry season. The concentration of dissolved oxygen was more closely related to.feeding activity than the rainfall and the other physico-chemical factors of the water.Keywords: diet; fish; insectivory; lake; dry season.