Feeding preference of threadsail filefish Stephanolepis cirrhifer on moon jellyfish and lobworm in the laboratory

Abstract

Abstract:We examined feeding preference in the threadsail filefish Stephanolepis cirrhifer on jellyfish and lobworm. Juvenile filefish were fed moon jellyfish Aurelia sp. and/or lobworm Perinereis nuntia vallata for 30 min in tanks with or without sand substrate, and the onset of foraging behavior, response latency (RL) and time spent foraging (total time spent searching for food and feeding) were analyzed using video recordings and measurements of food consumption. Organic matter consumption per unit of foraging time was also estimated for each prey item. In tanks with a sand substrate, RL was significantly shorter, foraging time was significantly longer, and organic matter consumption per unit foraging time was higher for jellyfish than for lobworm; however, the opposite trend was observed in tanks without a sand substrate. Filefish in all treatments consumed an average of 99Ϯ25% of their body weight in jellyfish in 30 min. This study revealed that although filefish prefer lobworm to jellyfish when both are readily available, filefish will select jellyfish when only jellyfish are visible. These findings imply that frequent jellyfish blooms increase the feeding opportunities of filefish on jellyfish.

Jellyfish as an alternative source of food for opportunistic fishes

“…Although carbon concentration was not estimated and considering that prey abundance was equally determined according to their size, it is realistic to assume that crustaceans represent a much important input of carbon as prey than jellyfish. Similar results were reported for the threadsail filefish (Stephanolepis cirrhifer), which was shown to preferentially ingest gelatinous prey when the high quality prey was less visible in the tanks (Miyajima et al, 2011). Likewise, prey accessibility was also pointed as a key factor in prey selectivity by S. aurata in the field (Pita et al, 2002).…”

Piscivory of the Japanese giant box jellyfish <i>Morbakka virulenta</i>

“…Many fish are known to be associated with jellyfish mainly for the reasons of antipredation and/or feeding (Mansueti 1963, Arai 1988, 2005, Ates 1988, Bonaldo et al 2004, Ohtsuka et al 2009. Some medusivorous fish, such as filefish, seem to consume not only scyphomedusae, but also cubomedusae, as food (Arai 1988, 2005, Ates 1988, Purcell & Arai 2001, Bonaldo et al 2004, Masuda 2009b, Miyajima et al 2011, Kondo et al 2016. Our observation of the feeding behavior by Thamnaconus modestus on M. virulenta clearly confirmed that cubomedusae were eaten by the fish.…”

A Multi-screening Evaluation of the Nutritional and Nutraceutical Potential of the Mediterranean Jellyfish Pelagia noctiluca

“…Regarding aquafeed field, Marques et al recently revealed that all developmental stages of Aurelia sp. were accepted as a feed source by Sparus aurata [73]; Aurelia aurita was also demonstrated to be a valid feed source for Thamnaconus modestus , when other common preys were not visible [95], and for rearing commercial fish such as Pampus argenteus [96]. Furthermore, Milisenda and colleagues proposed P. noctiluca as valuable food source for fish predators, such as Boops boops, in the Strait of Messina, due to an increased energy content during the period of gonad maturation, and to the high available biomass present during blooms [65].…”