Feeding habits of the Mexican barracuda, Sphyraena ensis Jordan and Gilbert, 1882, in the southeastern end of the Gulf of California

Abstract

Understanding the feeding habits of the Mexican barracuda, Sphyraena ensis Jordan and Gilbert, 1882, is important to elucidate relevant aspects of its trophic ecology (prey intake, diet breadth, trophic level, and energy flows), which in general provide valuable information on the dynamics of marine communities. Therefore, the purpose of this work was to assess the dietary habits of the Mexican barracuda, S. ensis, and to determine dietary variations by sex (males, females), size (small, medium, and large individuals), and season (rainy and dry). Monthly samples were obtained from February 2014 to January 2015 in the San Blas region, Nayarit, Mexico. A total of 308 specimens were captured. Individuals measured between 30.6 and 58.7 cm total length and weighed between 405 and 836 g. Of the analyzed stomachs, 264 (86%) contained food and 44 (14%) were empty. The diet of the Mexican barracuda comprised 13 prey items from 11 families, 12 genera, and 9 species. According to the index of relative importance, the most important prey were fishes, particularly Sardinops spp. (40.36%), Hemiramphus saltator (40.24%), Opisthopterus dovii (10.83%), Anchoa spp. (4.17%), and Mugil cephalus (3.05%). We conclude that the Mexican barracuda can be categorized as an opportunistic ichthyophagous predator in coastal epipelagic zones that feeds mainly on schooling fish species. The trophic spectrum did not vary significantly by sex or size, but the consumption of preferred prey varied significantly by season.

Community of macroparasites of the Pacific barracuda Sphyraena ensis Jordan and Gilbert, 1882 (Perciformes, Sphyraenidae) from the north coast of Peru

“…Our study shows that ectoparasites (monogenean, copepod) have a higher dominance in S. ensis than endoparasites. As the route of infestation of gastrointestinal endoparasites is closely associated to the host's diet (Poulin, 1995), it can be expected that opportunistic predatory fish that feed mainly on bony fish and zoobenthos, such as S. ensis (López-Peralta and Arcila, 2002;Moreno-Sánchez et al, 2019) are parasitized by a greater quantity and diversity of endoparasites. However, based on the collected samples of S. ensis parasites, these data come from the coast of Peru and additionally in the information in the literature (table 5), this does not occur in S. ensis because of the species of parasites reported for this fish; only two species are endoparasitic.…”

“…Taking this into account, it is to be expected that S. ensis, a predatory fish and opportunistic ichthyophage, which feeds mainly on bony fish that form schools such as Sardinops spp. (40.36 %), Hemiramphus saltator (40.24 %), and also zoobenthos (López-Peralta and Arcila, 2002;Moreno-Sánchez et al, 2019) would be parasitized by a high number and diversity of endoparasites. Moreno-Sánchez et al (2019) found no differences between the diet and the TBL and the sex of S. ensis.…”

“…(40.36 %), Hemiramphus saltator (40.24 %), and also zoobenthos (López-Peralta and Arcila, 2002;Moreno-Sánchez et al, 2019) would be parasitized by a high number and diversity of endoparasites. Moreno-Sánchez et al (2019) found no differences between the diet and the TBL and the sex of S. ensis. Based on the parasites found in S. ensis from the north coast of Peru, and according to the literature, this does not occur in S. ensis, since of the nine species of parasites registered in this fish (table 5), only one species is of the endoparasitic type, specifically the nematode found in this study.…”

“…Pacific barracuda inhabit depths in the range of 10 to 60 m. They can be found in waters with sandy and muddy bottoms, in coral reefs, and in rocky areas near the coast (Robertson and Allen, 2015). The diet of this barracuda consists mainly of bony neritic fish that form dense schools and zoobenthos, for which it is categorized as an opportunistic ichthyophage predator (Moreno-Sánchez et al, 2019;López-Peralta and Arcila, 2002). Fish diet can directly influence its parasitic fauna.…”

Observations on the trophodynamics of sawtooth barracuda,Sphyraena putnamaefrom the Bay of Bengal, northern Indian Ocean

“…Studies on food and feeding aspects of some barracuda species have been conducted globally; these species include S. jello and S. obtusata from Arabian Sea (Premalatha & Manojkumar, 1990); S. guachancho from the eastern Atlantic Ocean (Akadje et al, 2013); S. viridensis from Azores (Barreiros et al, 2002); S. jello from Persian Gulf (Hosseini et al, 2009); S. chrysotaenia and S. flavicauda from the Gulf of Suez (Osman et al, 2019); S. viridensis, S. sphyraena and S. chrysotaenia from Rhodes Island (Kalogirou et al, 2012); S. ensis from the southern shelf of Colombia and south-eastern Gulf of California (Lopez-Peralta & Arcila, 2002;Moreno-Sanchez et al, 2019); S. barracuda off Colombia (Hooker et al, 2007); and S. sphyraena from Cape Coast (Aggrey-Fynn et al, 2013). Most barracudas, except S. flavicauda, are specialized piscivores, with finfishes constituting 70% to close to 100% of the prey species.…”