Assessment of microhabitat preferences in juvenile dusky grouper ( Epinephelus marginatus ) by visual sampling

Mesa, Gabriele La; Louisy, Patrick; Vacchi, Marino

doi:10.1007/s002270100682

Cited by 46 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Indeed, juveniles of this species are cryptic, live closely associated with the bottom and do not stray far from crevices, an information which is in accordance to previous studies (e.g. Smith, 1961;Derbal & Kara, 1995;La Mesa et al 2002). When out of such shelters, juveniles avoided visually exposed locations (such as convex substrata and very large visual fields), preferring flat or sub-horizontal rocky substrata (La Mesa et al, 2002).This habitat dependency is probably more closely related to the need for shelter than for food (Parrish, 1987), and an important factor in determining the species showed no marked differences on their habitat preferences.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…obs.). Thus, there is not necessarily a shift in groupers toward deeper waters with increasing size, but rather an enlargement of their bathymetric range, at least for undisturbed populations (La Mesa et al, 2002), which explains this divergence between Derbal & Kara (1995) and the present study.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 44%

“…Smith, 1961;Derbal & Kara, 1995;La Mesa et al 2002). When out of such shelters, juveniles avoided visually exposed locations (such as convex substrata and very large visual fields), preferring flat or sub-horizontal rocky substrata (La Mesa et al, 2002).This habitat dependency is probably more closely related to the need for shelter than for food (Parrish, 1987), and an important factor in determining the species showed no marked differences on their habitat preferences. Different of the two Diplectrum species, at twilight E. marginatus and M. acutirostris increased their hunting activities.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The principal difference between the two groups is the body form related to the vertical occupation of the water column. microhabitat suitability for dusk groupers < 300 mm SL is certainly the availability of shelters, where the topographic variables are most important (La Mesa et al, 2002;Machado et al, 2003).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Activity, habitat use, feeding behavior, and diet of four sympatric species of Serranidae (Actinopterygii: Perciformes) in southeastern Brazil

Gibran

2007

Neotrop. ichthyol.

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Diplectrum formosum (the sand perch), Diplectrum radiale (the aquavina), Epinephelus marginatus (the dusky grouper) and Mycteroperca acutirostris (the comb grouper) are four sympatric serranid of remarkable ecological and commercial importance. This study investigated the feeding of these four species in the São Sebastião Channel, São Paulo State (southeastern Brazil), comparing their diet, habitat utilization and morphological features related to foraging. These four serranids are opportunistic visual predators that use a total of nine different tactics to capture their preys, feed mostly on crustaceans during the day and twilight, and keep stationary and quiescent at night. The ecomorphological study was conducted to test its predictive value to infer lifestyles. It was verified that such analysis should be used carefully and must be complemented by field observations. Although morphologically and behaviorally very similar, D. formosum and D. radiale showed different preferences to the substratum type used by large individuals, which are exclusively sit-and-wait predators. On the other hand, E. marginatus displayed more sedentary habits than M. acutirostris, the most versatile predator from the studied species. The studied species of Diplectrum and E. marginatus can be regarded as benthic serranids, while M. acutirostris could be viewed as a nektobenthic species.Diplectrum formosum, Diplectrum radiale (micholes-da-areia), Epinephelus marginatus (garoupa-verdadeira) e Mycteroperca acutirostris (badejo-mira) são quatro espécies simpátricas que pertencem à família Serranidae, de reconhecida importância ecológica e comercial. Este estudo analisou a alimentação destas quatro espécies de peixes no Canal de São Sebastião, Estado de São Paulo (sudeste do Brasil), comparando suas dietas, o uso do habitat e algumas características morfológicas relacionadas ao comportamento alimentar e a distribuição vertical na coluna d'água. Estes quatro serranídeos são predadores oportunistas que utilizam um total de nove táticas diferentes para capturar suas presas, alimentando-se principalmente de crustáceos durante o dia e crepúsculo, e permanecendo estacionários e inativos durante a noite. Um estudo ecomorfológico foi empregado para testar seu valor preditivo. Foi verificado que tal abordagem deve ser utilizada com cautela e sempre complementada com observações diretas no ambiente. Apesar de morfologicamente e comportamentalmente muito semelhantes, D. formosum e D. radiale mostraram divergências com relação ao tipo de substrato preferido pelos maiores indivíduos, que são exclusivamente predadores de espreita. Por outro lado, E. marginatus mostrou possuir hábitos de vida mais sedentários do que M. acutirostris, o mais versátil predador dentre as espécies estudadas. As espécies de Diplectrum estudadas, assim como E. marginatus, podem ser classificadas como serranídeos bentônicos, enquanto que M. acutirostris pode ser classificada como uma espécie nectobentônica.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 44%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Activity, habitat use, feeding behavior, and diet of four sympatric species of Serranidae (Actinopterygii: Perciformes) in southeastern Brazil

Gibran

2007

Neotrop. ichthyol.

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“…Some of its biological features such as sedentary and territorial behavior (La Mesa et al, 2002), low growth rate, late maturation and protogynous hermaphrodite mode of reproduction (Fennessy, 2006) make this species particularly vulnerable to anthropogenic threats such as fishery. Accordingly, overexploitation from commercial fishing is considered the primary threat affecting this species (Cornish & Harmelin-Vivien, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diet and feeding strategy of the dusky grouper Mycteroperca marginata (Actinopterygii: Epinephelidae) in a man-made rocky habitat in southern Brazil

et al. 2011

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The dusky grouper (Mycteroperca marginata) is a marine species usually associated with rocky bottoms and reefs. The present work investigated the diet and feeding strategy of a dusky grouper population inhabiting a 4.5 km long pair of rocky jetties located in the mouth of Patos Lagoon estuary. No prior research has been conducted in such man-made habitat and the current study provides a basis for comparative studies on the diet of the dusky grouper populations inhabiting natural vs. manmade rocky habitats. Similarly with previous studies on natural substrates, crabs and fishes were the main food categories consumed (%IRI = 85.1 and %IRI = 12.6, respectively), whereas shrimps and mollusks had lower importance in the diet (%IRI = 1.9 and 0.4, respectively). As previously reported for dusky grouper populations inhabiting reefs and rocky bottoms, the present work revealed conspicuous size related dietary shifts. Blue crabs and fishes become increasingly important food items in the diet of larger individuals (> 500 mm, TL). Finally, it was found that the studied dusky population has a generalist feeding strategy with a high between-individual variation in prey consumption. Such strategy remained similar across the size increment of the species. Our findings suggest that man-made rocky substrates provide suitable feeding grounds for the dusky grouper in southern Brazil and could be used as an additional tool in the conservation efforts of this endangered species.A garoupa-verdadeira (Mycteroperca marginata) é uma espécie marinha geralmente associada a fundos rochosos e recifes. O presente trabalho investiga a dieta e estratégia alimentar de uma população da garoupa-verdadeira que habita um longo (4,5 km) par de molhes de pedra na desembocadura do estuário da laguna dos Patos, sul do Brasil. Não há trabalhos anteriores realizados nesse tipo de habitat construído pelo homem e este trabalho fornece uma base de comparação com estudos de dieta de outras populações da garoupa-verdadeira ocorrendo em habitats naturais. De modo similar ao encontrado em estudos prévios realizados em substratos naturais, caranguejos e peixes foram as principais categorias de alimento consumidas (%IRI = 85,1 e %IRI = 12,6, respectivamente), enquanto camarões e moluscos tiveram menor importância na dieta (%IRI = 1,9 e %IRI = 0,4, respectivamente). Como reportado anteriormente para populações de garoupa-verdadeira que habitam recifes e fundos rochosos, o presente trabalho revelou marcadas mudanças na dieta em função do tamanho da espécie. Siri-azul e peixes tornam-se gradativamente mais importantes na dieta de indivíduos maiores (> 500 mm de comprimento total, CT). Finalmente, foi observado que a população de garoupa-verdadeira teve uma estratégia alimentar generalista com uma elevada variação entre indivíduos no consumo de presas. Essa estratégia permaneceu similar ao longo do aumento em tamanho da espécie. Os resultados do presente trabalho sugerem que substratos rochosos estabelecidos pelo homem propiciam locais de alimentação adequados para a ...

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Shape and size variation: Growth and development of the dusky grouper (Epinephelus marginatus Lowe, 1834)

Russo

Pulcini

Bruner

et al. 2008

Journal of Morphology

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Demersal fishes have complex life cycles that involve an ontogenetic change in morphology, physiology, and behavior, as their pelagic larval stages colonize benthic habitats. The developmental transition between larvae and juveniles leads to very complex processes of morphogenesis and differentiation. These processes primarily determine changes in external morphology, which is shaped by selective pressures to optimize performance for basic activities such as swimming, escape from predators, and feeding. Fishes have provided fertile grounds for ecomorphological investigations throughout ontogeny, as the role of changing morphology in inducing ontogenetic niche shifts is not always clear. In this framework, some studies have demonstrated that certain species undergo gradual changes, whereas other species experience threshold effects in their ecomorphological relationships during ontogeny. In this study, the intraspecific allometry of the dusky grouper was examined. Geometric morphometric tools were used to quantify shape changes through the development, and a modular approach was also applied to analyze the pattern of covariation between three distinct blocks (head, trunk, and tail). For this purpose, a two-block Partial Least Square was computed. This method reveals that the pattern of changes in the overall body shape is the result of the modularized changes of these blocks.

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Assessment of microhabitat preferences in juvenile dusky grouper ( Epinephelus marginatus ) by visual sampling

Cited by 46 publications

References 6 publications

Activity, habitat use, feeding behavior, and diet of four sympatric species of Serranidae (Actinopterygii: Perciformes) in southeastern Brazil

Activity, habitat use, feeding behavior, and diet of four sympatric species of Serranidae (Actinopterygii: Perciformes) in southeastern Brazil

Diet and feeding strategy of the dusky grouper Mycteroperca marginata (Actinopterygii: Epinephelidae) in a man-made rocky habitat in southern Brazil

Shape and size variation: Growth and development of the dusky grouper (Epinephelus marginatus Lowe, 1834)

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