Journal of Aquaculture (한국양식학회지)

The Korean Society of Fisheries and Aquatic Science (한국양식학회)
권호 표지

Taxonomy of Preys in Natural Young Tarpon, Megalops atlanticus

  • Sung Hwoan Cho (Department of Fisheries and Allied Aquacultures, Auburn university)
  • Published : 1999.06.01
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Abstract

Predater, tarpon (Megalops atlanticus) has a specific preferring preys in natural environments. To investigate this, young tarpon were captured and their stomach contents were weighed and sorted based on taxonomic groups. Average standard length and body weight for tarpon captured were 11.49 cm and 34.67 g, respectively. The average weight of the stomach contents in the tarpon was 0.83 g. The status of digestion extent of the consumed preys was 2.37 which indicated that preys were relatively well digested. The main preys in tarpon stomach were other fishes (mosquito fish and sheepshead minnow) and shrimp. Frequency occurrence of fishes in tarpon stomach was highest (P＜0.05). Also, frequency occurrence of shrimp was higher than that of fly (P＜0.05). Mean individual number of fish found in tarpon stomach was 2.66 per tarpon and it was higher than that of shrimp or fly (P<0.05). There was linear regression between the total weight of the consumed preys and the standard length of tarpon; Y (Total weight of preys) = 0.3151 $\times$ (Standard length of tarpon) - 2.7123, $R^2$=0.6140. Also, there was the strong linear regression between the total weight of the consumed preys and weight of the tarpon; Y (Total weight of preys) = 0.0299 $\times$ (Body weight of tarpon) - 0.0774, $R^2$=0.7882. These results indicated that the main preys for young tarpon in their natural environments were small fish composed of mosquito fish and sheepshead minnow and shrimp. And there was the stronger correlation between the total weight of preys and the body weight of tarpon than that between the total weight of preys and the standard length of tarpon.

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