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Food and feeding habits of Caranx crysos from the Gulf of Gabès (Tunisia)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 April 2009

Ayda Sley ,
Othman Jarboui ,
Mohamed Ghorbel  and
Abderrahmen Bouain
Ayda Sley*
Affiliation:
Institut National des Sciences et Technologies de la Mer (Centre de Sfax), BP, 1035,3018, Sfax, Tunisie
Othman Jarboui
Affiliation:
Institut National des Sciences et Technologies de la Mer (Centre de Sfax), BP, 1035,3018, Sfax, Tunisie
Mohamed Ghorbel
Affiliation:
Institut National des Sciences et Technologies de la Mer (Centre de Sfax), BP, 1035,3018, Sfax, Tunisie
Abderrahmen Bouain
Affiliation:
Faculté des Sciences de Sfax. BP, 802–3018 Sfax, Tunisie
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: A. Sley, Institut National des Sciences et Technologies de la Mer (Centre de Sfax), BP, 1035, 3018, Sfax, Tunisie email: [email protected]
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Abstract

The diet of blue runner Caranx crysos (Carangidae) in the Gulf of Gabès (Tunisia, Mediterranean) is described from analysis of stomach contents (N = 1668 fish). The majority of samples were obtained from commercial purse seine and gill-net catches. The index of vacuity (%VI) was relatively high (58.7%) and differed significantly across months. Blue runner is an opportunistic predator that consumes mostly pelagic organisms, with benthic prey representing only a small proportion of the diet. The diet was quantified using the frequency of occurrence (%F), numerical abundance (%N), weight (%W) and the index of relative importance (IRI and %IRI) for each prey taxa.

The most important prey categories were teleosts (%IRI = 83.4) and crustaceans (%IRI = 16.6), with molluscs only observed occasionally (%IRI < 0.1). Fish were also the dominant food items in both terms of weight (89.60%) and frequency of occurrence (82.44%). In terms of numerical abundance, crustaceans were the most abundant prey (78.07%). Ontogenetic and seasonal differences in the diet were observed, although there was no difference between the diets of males and females.

Keywords

CarangidaeCaranx crysosdietGulf of GabèsTunisiaMediterranean
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 89 , Issue 7 , November 2009 , pp. 1375 - 1380
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2009

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