Food Content of Six Commercial Fishes from Mississippi Sound
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University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Faculty Publications from the Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology Parasitology, Harold W. Manter Laboratory of 1982 Food Content of Six Commercial Fishes from Mississippi Sound Robin M. Overstreet Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, [email protected] Richard W. Heard Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/parasitologyfacpubs Part of the Parasitology Commons Overstreet, Robin M. and Heard, Richard W., "Food Content of Six Commercial Fishes from Mississippi Sound" (1982). Faculty Publications from the Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology. 465. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/parasitologyfacpubs/465 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Parasitology, Harold W. Manter Laboratory of at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications from the Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. GulfResearch Reports, V ol. I,No. 2,1 37-149,1 982 FOOD CONTENTS OF SIX COMMERCIAL FISHES FROM MISSISSIPPI SOUND’ ROBIN M. OVERSTREET AND RICHARD W. HEARD Parasitology Section, Gulf Coast Research Laboratory Ocean Springs, Mississippi 395 64 A BSTRA C T Specific dietary contents from six fishes collected in M iss iss ippi Sound are recorded. In order of their impor- tance, primary components grouped in major taxonomic categories w ere fishes , penaeid s hrimps , and other crus taceans for Cynoscion nebulosus; C rus taceans and fishes for C. arenarius; fishes and crus taceans for C. nothus; crus taceans ?pelecypods , and polychaetes for Pogonias cromis; crus taceans , mollus cs , polychaetes , and fishes for Archosargus probatocephalus; and fishes and penaeid s hrimps for Paralichthys lethostigma. Principal items in the diets of most of the fishes included Anchw mitchilli, Penaeus aztecus, P. setiferus, and Callinectes sapidus. T hose crus taceans s how that competition exists for com- mercial s hellfishes in M iss iss ippi Sound. Ratios among the different dietary items vary, according at leas t to s pecies of fish, length of fish, s eas on, s pecific location, and abundance of available prey. Some of thes e variations are documented and are additionally related to s elected findings by other authors s ampling different localities . We s uggest that examination of food items in Archosargus probatocephalus can s erve as a practical means to s ample and ass ess s eas onal prevalence and abun- dance of a w ide range of invertebrates throughout different habitats in M iss iss ippi Sound and els ew here. INTRODUC TION ard lengths (SL) w ere measured and their food contents M iss iss ippi Sound offers a variety of habitats in w hich either identified w hen removed or placed in 1 0 % formalin commercial fd es can feed. E xamination of food contents for future identification. Rather than being restricted s olely of the red drum and A tlantic croaker (O verstreet and Heard to environmentally derived, microbially degraded, organic 1 978a, 1 978b) has already indicated that those tw o fishes matter, the term Òdetritus Ó in this paper may include also feed on organisms from a number of different habitats in partially diges ted animals or plants. and adjacent to the Sound. T his paper lists s pecific food contents of the s potted s eatrout, Cynoscion nebulosus; RE SU LTS s and s eatrout, C. arenarius; s ilver s eatrout, C. nothus; black T he number of each fish s pecies examined and the num- drum, Pogonias cromis; s heeps head, Archosargus probQto- ber containing food are listed in T able 1 along w ith the cephalus; and s outhern flounder, Paralichthys lethostigmu, frequency of occurrence of s pecific dietary items for each for the first time from M iss iss ippi Sound. K nowledge con- fish. T he s heeps head, w hich fed on a minimum of 1 1 3 iden- cerning the food of thes e fishes, based on ontogenetic, tifiable items, had the most diverse diet. Specific data com- temporal, and s patial relations hips , allows a better per- bined into general taxonomic groups , w hen s ample s ize of ception of predator biology and, cons equently, provides a the six predators w as s ufficient, reveal differences in food better means to manage the respective fisheries. O ur infor- contents according to length of fish and s eason (T ables 2-6). mation demons trates that commercial finfishes competed Fishes and crus taceans occurred frequently in the diets for prey. Prey often cons tituted one of s everal commer- of all three s eatrouts, w ith about tw ice as many fish as cially important fin- or s hellfishes. We also pres ent pertinent crus taceans in both C. nebulosus and C. nothus (T able 2). references that deal w ith food and feeding habits of the six A greater percentage of C . arenarius had crus taceans pres ent fishes. w hen compared w ith percentages for the other tw o s ea- trouts, and the percentage increased w ith fsh-length. M A T E RIA LS A ND M E T HODS Seas onality influenced the diet of C. nebulosus as ex- M ost of the fish w ere collected by trammel nets and ex- emplified by the presence of the often abundant bay amined s pecifically for food contents. O thers w ere caught anchovy, Anchoa mitchilli. T he bay anchovy occurred in- by traw l or by hook and line, and the contents w ere removed frequently in the s eatroutÕs food contents during s pring from s ome w hile examining those fish for other purposes . w hen other fishes w ere common prey (T able 3). T he s pot- A ll fish w ere maintained on ice until examined. T heir s tand- ted s eatrout, especially large individuals , contained more polychaetes during w inter than during other s easons ; ÔThe s tudy w as conducted in cooperation w ith the U.S. Depart- Òdetritus Ó also occurred commonly in the s eatroutÕs s tom- ment of C ommerce, NO A A , National M arine Fisheries Service under ach and intestine during that period. PL 88,30 9, Project No. 2-325-R and O ffice of Sea G rant, M iss is- Both Pogonias cromis and Archosargus probatocephalus s ippi-A labama Sea G rant Program, grant no. NA 81A A -D-00 50 , fed on a great variety of dietary items, especially benthic M A SG P-81-023. ones. T he diet of A. probatocephalus w as influenced by M anus cript received December 8,1 981 ; accepted January 1 9,1 982. w hether the s heeps head w as feeding near barrier islands 137 138 OVERSTREET A ND HE A R D TABLE 1. Percentage of occurrence of different food items in the digestive tracts of s elected fishes from M iss iss ippi Sound. Species of fish Archosaqus Archosargus Cvnoscion anoscion Cjmscion Pogonhs probatocephalus probatocephalus Paralichthys nebulosus "ius nothus "is Inshore Nearislands kthmtigma Number fii examined 373 108 25 15 77 65 212 Number fiiw ith food 340 ' 6 74 12 15 63 62 97 Food item Percentage of occurrence in fish with food item Foraminiferan (unidentified) 0.3 0 .o 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0 .o cnidarians Calliactis tricolor 0.0 0 .o 0.0 0 .o 0.0 3.2 0.0 Clione sp. 0.0 0 .o 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.6 0.0 Hydroid remains 0.3 0 .o 0.0 0.0 15.9 6.5 0.0 U nidentifiable coelenterate 0 .0 0 .o 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.6 0.0 Sipunculoidean 0 .o 1.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Polychaetes Chaetopterus variopedatus 0 .0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 6.5 0.0 Chaetoptems tube remains 0.0 0.0 0 .0 0.0 0.0 3.2 0.0 Diopatra cuprea 0.6 0.0 0.0 0 .o 1.6 11.3 0.0 Glycera amekana 0 -9 0 .o 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Nereis (Neanthes) succinea 5.6 0.0 0.0 6.7 15.9 0.0 0.0 Nereis sp. (unidentifiable) 1.5 0 .o 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.2 0.0 Pectinaria goukiii 0 .o 0 .o 0.0 0.0 1.6 3.2 0.0 Polyodontes lupina 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.6 0.0 Spwchaetopterus oculatus 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.2 0.0 Sthenelais boa 0 .o 0.0 0.0 0 .o 0.0 3.2 0.0 U nidentifiible maldanid 0 .0 0 .0 0.0 0.0 1.6 9.7 0.0 U nidentifiable polychaete 0.6 0 -0 0.0 13.3 3.2 6.5 2.1 Gastropods Anachis cf. obessa 0.0 0 .o 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.6 0.0 Anachis sp. 0.0 0 .o 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.2 0.0 Canthams cancellarius 0 .o 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.2 0.0 Crepidula plana 0 .o 0 .o 0.0 0.0 3.2 1.6 0.0 Crepidula sp. 0 .o 0.o 0.0 0.0 3.2 0.0 0.0 Nassarius acutus 0 .o 0 .o 0.0 0.0 7.9 21.0 0.0 Neritina usnea 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Olivelln mutica .