Ontogeny of feeding by Astyanax paris in streams of the Uruguay River Basin, Brazil

Abstract

Ontogeny of feeding by Astyanax paris in streams of the Uruguay River Basin, Brazil. We studied the ontogeny of feeding by Astyanax paris, an insectivorous characid fish from streams of the Uruguay River Basin in southern Brazil. Size-based differences in diet composition were evaluated using permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA). Six streams surveyed over twelve months yielded twenty specimens for analysis of stomach contents. Smaller individuals (SL ≤ 25 mm) consumed mainly aquatic insects. As body size increased, there was a gradual shift to a diet dominated by terrestrial insects. Ontogeny of feeding habitats thus changes the species' position in stream food webs.