Abstract

COGUA, Pilar; JIMENEZ-REYES, María F.  and  DUQUE, Guillermo. TROPHIC RELATIONSHIPS OF FIVE SPECIES OF COMMERCIAL INTEREST IN CARTAGENA BAY, COLOMBIAN CARIBBEAN. Bol. Invest. Mar. Cost. [online]. 2013, vol.42, n.1, pp.185-192. ISSN 0122-9761.

Cartagena Bay is a highly productive habitat which supports important aquatic communities and is considered an estuarine environment. During the sampling season, five commercial fish were captured: ladyfish (Elops smithi), machuelo (Opisthonema oglinum), mullet (Mugil incilis), sea bass (Centropomus ensiferus), and corvina (Cynoscion jamaicensis), all which stomach contents were analyzed. From all the fish captured, 82.6% presented contents in their stomachs, which were separated into 57 items, such as benthic microalgae, dinoflagellates, cyanophytes, sponges, mollusks, annelids, crustaceans, and fish. According to the Importance Relative Index (IRI), E. smithi, C. ensiferus, and C. jamaicensis were classified as third order consumers, O. oglinum as a second-order consumer, and M. incilis as first order consumer. The most contrasting result compared to other studies, is the found for O. oglinum, suggesting that this species is not only a filter feeding, but also a scale eater (lepidophagy).

Keywords : Trophic characterization; Cartagena Bay; estuary; lepidophagy.

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