Light-Dark and Food Restriction Cycles in Red sea bream, Pagrus major: Effect of Zeitgebers on Demand-feeding Rhythms

Red sea bream, Pagrus major a fish species characterized by its dualistic feeding pattern, was investigated to study the synchronizing effect of light and food on the demand-feeding rhythm. Nocturnal and diurnal red sea bream, both in groups and individually, were exposed to restricted-feeding and Light-Dark cycles of different periods. The phase relationship between both zeitgebers was also studied. In some cases, food availability restricted to the light or dark phase contrary to that of the previous feeding phase changed a diurnal feeding pattern into nocturnal and vice versa, suggesting that food can be one of the switching factors that decides whether the circadian system of red sea bream is diurnal or nocturnal. However, the fact that the feeding pattern of some fish was unrelated with the phase in which food was available suggests that other internal and/or external-factors could be involved in the temporal flexibility of red sea bream.