Abstract

BLANCO CERVANTES, Carlos  and  BLANCO CERVANTES, German. Alimentary habits of the ichthyofauna present in the lower reaches of the Gaira River, Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta, Colombian Caribbean. Actu Biol [online]. 2020, vol.42, n.113, e6.  Epub May 10, 2021. ISSN 0304-3584.  https://doi.org/10.17533/udea.acbi.v42n113a01.

In this research, the eating habits, food variation and trophic relationships of the fish in the lower reaches of the Gaira River, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombian Caribbean were analyzed. Sampling was carried out during the rainy and dry season, using two launch nets with different mesh sizes. To establish the important foods, in the stomach content, quantitative methods such as the void index (CV%) and the relative importance index (IIR%) were used. A total of 231 stomachs were studied and seven food groups were identified. According to their trophic habits, the fish were classified, in the dry season as omnivores (with a tendency towards insectivores), carnivores and herbivores. During the rainy season, fish was the most important food considering that it constituted 78% of the food supply; Sicydium salvani larvae appeared in 95% of the stomachs analyzed, being eaten by both carnivorous and omnivorous fish. During the dry season, the food supply was provided 100% by plant material (algae, stems and silt) and 74% by debris. These results show that this river system is capable of maintaining a diverse community with sufficient food resources available.

Keywords : Diet; diversity; stomach content; tropical dry forest; trophic ecology.

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