Veranes-Dip, A., X.G., Moreno-Sánchez, A., Tripp-Valdez, M.S., Irigoyen-Arredondo & L.A., Abitia-Cárdenas (2024). Feeding habits of the Pacific Porgy Calamus brachysomus (Teleostei: Sparidae) in the central Gulf of California, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Ciencias Marinas. 50: e3428. DOI: 10.7773/cm.y2024.3428.
Anabel Veranes-Dip 1, Xchel Gabriel Moreno-Sánchez 2, Arturo Tripp-Valdez 3, Marina Soledad Irigoyen-Arredondo 4 y Leonardo Andres Abitia-Cárdenas 1
The Pacific porgy, Calamus brachysomus, is acommercially important fish in Baja California Sur, where it can reproduceyear-round. Feeding habits of fishes can change during reproduction in responseto changes in energetic demand. The objective of this study was to characterizethe trophic habits of the Pacific porgy and their variations by sex,reproductive stage, and season. Monthly samples were obtained from July 2015 toJuly 2016 in the central Gulf of California. Stomach contents of 235 specimens(108 males and 127 females) were analyzed. The trophic spectrum comprised 90prey items, including 58 mollusks, 14 echinoderms, 13 arthropods, twochordates, one annelid, one poriferan, and algal remains. According to the Prey-SpecificIndex of Relative Importance (%PSIRI), the most important prey were thebivalves Transennella spp. (7.24%), Argopecten spp. (6.94%), Anadaraspp. (6.25%), Septifer zeteki (6.19%), and Tivela spp. (6.1%).The trophic spectrum varied significantly by season, but not by sex orreproductive stage; there were no significant interactions between sex andseason or sex and reproductive stage. According to Levin’s index, C.brachysomus had a narrow trophic niche (Bi = 0.31).Costello’s graphs indicated dominance by a few species, with shifting relativeabundance of prey species. According to the trophic level, C. brachysomuswas catalogued as a tertiary consumer (3.18); it represents an important linkbetween upper and lower trophic levels. Based on these results, we inferredthat the Pacific porgy is an opportunistic predator that feeds actively duringall reproductive stages, which suggests that energetic requirements needed for reproductionare covered by the prey that comprise its trophic spectrum, with no need tochange to more energetic prey.
Palabras clave: sparidae; feeding habits; Opportunistic predator; Reproduction; Gulf of California
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