Selection of Meiofaunal Prey by the Darter Goby, Gobionellus boleosoma (Gobiidae)

Utilization of meiofauna as a food source by a grassbed fish, the spotted dragonet Callionymus pauciradiatus

“…Bregnballe, 1961;Kaczynski et al, 1973;Grossman et al, 1980;Godin, 1981;Alheit and Scheibel, 1982). In tropical grassbeds, the emerald clingfish Acyrtops beryllinus and the darter goby Gobionellus boleosoma depend on meiofauna for food through all life stages (Gould, 1965;Carle and Hastings, 1983). The typically abundant meiofauna, then, are either a large potential source of transfer of detrital energy or, if the terminus of a short food chain, a significant banier to energy flow.…”

Feeding habits ofPadogobius bonelli(Bonaparte, 1846) (Osteichthyes, Gobiidae): The importance of fish dimensions and hydrological conditions

“…For this reason, other invertebrates, also abundant and widespread, were not positively selected: this is the case of the very mobile Ephemeroptera Baetidae and Leptophlebiidae and also of the small-sized Hydracarina. The small percentages of coarse and fine particulate organic matter in the guts, together with a lower percentage of sand and gravel, are probably a consequence of the feeding method of this species that collects its preys directly from the riverbed, as some other Gobiidae species (Carle & Hastings 1982;Charlebois et al 1997). The strong preference for benthic preys probably diminishes interspecific competition with the Brown Trout (Salmo trutta trutta L., 1758), a Salmonidae that usually lives in the same lotic environments, but that captures preys in the whole water column, ingesting high amounts of drifting and terrestrial insects (Montori et al 2006;Fochetti et al 2008).…”

“…Generally, Gobiidae are considered to be benthic feeders, with a diet dominated by crustaceans and molluscs (Charlebois et al 1997). It is well known that some Gobiidae species are scarcely selective feeders, ingesting amounts of sediments and associated organisms (Carle & Hastings 1982), while many others show evident trophic preferences. For example, Adámek et al (2007), comparing the diet of four species from South Slovakia, reported that there are some differences among them, and also that Amphipoda, Diptera Chironomidae, Trichoptera Hydropsyche sp.…”

Selection of meiobenthic prey by juvenile spot (Pisces): an experiments, study

“…Perhaps more importantly, spot selected live copepods over all other prey types suggesting that prey motility may be an important factor in prey selection by spot. Recently, several studies have cited motility of prey as a key factor in prey selection (Rimmer & Power 1978, kngler 1979, Pastorok 1980, Carle & Hastings 1982, Main 1985. Motion may affect the availability of prey to a predator.…”

“…Harpacticoid copepods, in particular, have been found as the dominant prey item in many juvenile fish diets (Roelofs 1954, Stickney et al 1975, Sheridan 1979, Sibert 1979. Comparisons of the number of harpacticoids found in fish guts with numbers present in the feeding habitats have led several authors to conclude that harpacticoids are actively selected over other meiofauna (Feller & Kaczynski 1975, Alheit & Scheibel 1982, Carle & Hastings 1982, Sogard 1984, Gee 1987. It has even been suggested that some juvenile fish undergo an 'obligatory harpacticoid feeding period ' (de Morais & Bodiou 1984).…”