Data on the diet composition of Hippocampus guttulatus cuvier, 1829: Different prey preferences among habitats

Abstract

The data presented here support research article entitled ‘Trophic flexibility and prey selection of the wild long-snouted seahorse Hippocampus guttulatus Cuvier, 1829 in three coastal habitats’’ Ape et al., 2019. Determinations of the dietary composition, differences in prey selection and potential prey abundance and availability among three habitats at Taranto Mar Piccolo were based on the analysis of gut contents of seahorses and sediment samples. Both highly ( Corallina elongata and Cladophora prolifera ) and low complex (sandy bottom) habitats were investigated. Prey items were divided into two size classes: <1 mm and >1mm. Data about the total abundance of each prey size class in gut contents and sediments in three different habitats and PERMANOVA comparisons are given.

Trophic flexibility and prey selection of the wild long-snouted seahorse Hippocampus guttulatus Cuvier, 1829 in three coastal habitats

“…The number of prey > 1 mm (ranging from 5.9 ± 5.8 items on Sandy bottom to 19.0 ± 10.0 items on C. elongata) was significantly higher on C. elongata only compared to the Sandy bottom (pairwise, P < 0.001). The abundance of two prey size classes and results of the PERMANOVA analysis performed on gut contents are reported in Ape et al, 2019 submitted (see Tab. 2, 3 and 4).…”