Food and feeding habits of the greenback grey mullet Liza subviridis (Valenciennes, 1836) from Parangipettai waters, south-east coast of India

Abstract

The feeding ecology and prey preference of greenback grey mullet Liza subviridis (Valenciennes, 1836) were investigated in Parangipettai waters (11°29′25.55″N; 79°45′38.62″E) from May 2011 to April 2012. A total of 328 male and 360 female specimens of L. subviridis were analysed. Detritus and sand particles formed the major food item of L. subviridis in both sexes besides, diatoms, dinoflagellates, algae, zooplankton, foraminiferans, polychaetes and larval forms were also noticed and ranked respectively based on the quantities.

Food habits of two mullets inhabiting Iraqi marine waters, Northwest Arabian Gulf

“…Also, Mohamed and Abood [26] found that the highest values of the vacuity index of P. klunzengeri and P. subviridis in the Shatt Al-Arab River were in winter, and the overall values of the vacuity index for both species were 17.2 and 20.7%, respectively. The value of the vacuity index of P. subviridis varied from 7.2% (November) to 19.3% (August) in males, while in females ranged from 7.1% (March) to 19.2% (August) in the Parangipettai waters, India [22]. Nikolsky [45] deduced that water temperature plays a substantial role in food intake.…”

“…Jabir and Al-Hisnawi [14] found that P. subviridis in Khor Al-Zubair, Iraq fed on detritus (35.1%), diatoms (20.0%), crustacean (6.3%) and high plants (6.2%) and Mohamed et al [15] stated that the species fed mainly on detritus (19.1%), diatoms (16.7%), high plants (12.7%) and algae (12.5%) in the Iraqi marine waters. Ashiq Ur Rahman et al [22] found that P. subviridis in the Parangipettai waters, India consumed detritus, diatoms, dinoflagellates, algae, zooplankton, polychaetes, foraminiferans, larval forms and miscellaneous items. Similar results were obtained for the other species of the mullet, Ellochelon vaigiensis in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam, where detritus was the essential food in the diet composition of the species and did not vary with sex, body size, season, and sampling site [48].…”

“…Studies on the food and feeding habits of P. subviridis have been made by many authors in different waters around the world such as Chan and Chua [12] in different coastal locations in Malaysia; Wahab [13] in Shatt Al-Basrah Canal, Iraq; Jabir and Al-Hisnawi [14] in Khor Al-Zubair, Iraq; Mohamed et al [15] in the northwest Arabian Gulf; Lasem [16] in the Garmat Ali River, Iraq; Mohamed et al [17] in East Hammar marsh. Iraq; Mohamed and Hussain [18] in Al-Hammar marsh, Iraq; Fatema et al [19,20] in Merbok Estuary, Malaysia; Mohamed et al [21] in East Hammar marsh, Iraq; Ashiq Ur Rahman et al [22] in Parangipettai waters, India; Al-Dubakel [23] and Tahar, et al [24] in Shatt Al-Arab River, Iraq; Al Ghiffary et al [25] in Pabean Bay, Indonesia; Mohamed and Abood [26] in the Shatt Al-Arab River, Iraq; Langsa et al [27] in Lampon Estuary, Indonesia. However, few studies have been done on the diets of P. klunzengeri including Mohamed and Hussain [18] in Al-Hammar marsh; Al-Dubakel [23], Tahar, et al [24] and Mohamed and Abood [26] in Shatt Al-Arab River, Iraq.…”

The reproductive biology of Ellochelon vaigiensis from the Vietnamese Mekong Delta

“…Mullets are distributed in temperate and tropical regions and occur in freshwater and marine habitats (Nelson et al., 2016). They are significant contributors to the energy flow of food webs in estuarine ecosystems (Rahman et al., 2016); gray mullets ( Mugil cephalus ) for example, are bottom‐dwelling species that consume decomposed organic matter, algae, and diatoms (El‐Marakby et al., 2006; Mondal et al., 2015). In 2016, the global yield of mullets totaled 763,291 tons, of which 76.8% were from capture fisheries (585,959 tons) and about 23.2% from aquaculture (177,332 tons) (FAO, 2018).…”