Diet and consumption rates of common dolphinfish,Coryphaena hippurus,in the eastern Arabian Sea

Abstract

SummaryThe aim of the study was to identify the diet composition, feeding preferences, size and sex related diet changes, and to calculate the consumption rates of common dolphinfish, Coryphaena hippurus, in the eastern Arabian Sea. Fish were caught using longline gear during the years 2006-2009. Stomachs of 238 specimens with fork lengths ranging from 324 to 1250 mm were analysed; 72 (30.25%) of the stomachs were empty. Epipelagic finfishes were the predominant prey followed by cephalopods and crustaceans. Occurrence of items such as sargassum, sea fans, corals, plastics and pieces of wood in the stomachs indicate an opportunistic and voracious feeding nature. Flyingfishes (family Exocoetidae), especially Exocoetus monocirrhus (%IRI 16.92), dominated the diet. Unidentified filefishes (family Monacanthidae), Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis, Euthynnus affinis, Cheilopogon furcatus and Cubiceps pauciradiatus were other important food items. The diet varied between sexes and different size classes. Juveniles and adults (size classes <75 cm, 75-95 and 95-115 cm) fed mainly on epipelagic finfishes, whereas the large adults (>115 cm) fed preferentially on cephalopods. Food consumption rate was higher in females (6.37% BW day À1 ) compared to males (4.04% BW day À1 ), and increased with their increase in size up to 75-95 cm length classes, thereafter decreasing. The daily meal and daily ration was 332.63 g day À1 and 5.25% BW day À1

Feeding Ecology of Dolphinfish in the Western Gulf of Mexico

“…Such items included pieces of rope, plastic ribbons, hard plastic bits, and a badminton shuttlecock. This nondiscriminatory feeding style has also been described in many other locales (Gibbs and Collette 1959;Rose and Hassler 1974;Manooch et al 1984;Rudershausen et al 2010;Varghese et al 2013). The most common nonfood item, sargassum, was observed in 26% of stomachs analyzed, and the presence of sargassum in stomach contents was found to increase with Dolphinfish TL.…”

“…Perhaps due to their fast-growing nature, Dolphinfish are known to be voracious eaters with a high metabolic rate (Benetti et al 1995). The diet of Dolphinfish has been examined in various ocean basins, including the Mediterranean Sea (Bannister 1976;Massuti et al 1998), Arabian Sea (Varghese et al 2013), Caribbean Sea (Oxenford and Hunte 1999), western Atlantic Ocean (Manooch et al 1984;Rudershausen et al 2010), and eastern Pacific Ocean (Olson and Galván-Magaña 2002;Torres-Rojas et al 2014;Tripp-Valdez et al 2015). However, only one study has examined Dolphinfish diets in the Gulf of Mexico (Manooch et al 1984), and this was conducted several decades ago.…”

Feeding ecology and consumption rates of yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) in the eastern Arabian Sea

“…66-76°E) for oceanic tunas and allied resources employing pelagic longline gear. The fishing gear used and survey strategies adopted for collection, storage and analysis of stomach contents were as described previously (Somvanshi et al, 2008;Varghese et al, 2013).…”

Horizontal and vertical movements of the common dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus) in La Paz Bay, Mexico

“…It is ecologically important because it is a top predator in the pelagic ecosystem (Varghese et al 2013). It is opportunistic (TrippValdez et al 2010), highly voracious, and has a wide trophic spectrum, and its food habits are closely linked to the epipelagic environment (Aguilar-Palomino et al 1998).…”

“…Es ecológicamente importante por ser un depredador tope en el ecosistema pelágico (Varghese et al 2013). Es un depredador oportunista (TrippValdez et al 2010), altamente voraz, con un espectro trófico amplio y de hábitos alimenticios estrechamente relacionados con el ambiente epipelágico (Aguilar-Palomino et al 1998).…”