Feeding ecology of conger eels ( Conger conger) in north-east Atlantic waters
In order to understand how marine ecosystems function, it is essential to study the trophic interactions among the community members, particularly from poorly known regions. In this study, the feeding ecology and diet of conger eels, Conger conger , an abundant fish species with commercial interest,...
Published in: | Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom |
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Cambridge University Press (CUP)
2009
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0025315409990555 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0025315409990555 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0025315409990555 2024-06-23T07:55:22+00:00 Feeding ecology of conger eels ( Conger conger) in north-east Atlantic waters Xavier, José C. Cherel, Yves Assis, Carlos A. Sendão, João Borges, Teresa C. 2009 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0025315409990555 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0025315409990555 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom volume 90, issue 3, page 493-501 ISSN 0025-3154 1469-7769 journal-article 2009 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0025315409990555 2024-06-12T04:04:46Z In order to understand how marine ecosystems function, it is essential to study the trophic interactions among the community members, particularly from poorly known regions. In this study, the feeding ecology and diet of conger eels, Conger conger , an abundant fish species with commercial interest, was examined in the north-east Atlantic, off Algarve (southern Portugal) between May 2005 and August 2006. The diet was characterized by species composition, size and mass of prey. Conger eels are opportunistic feeders, cannibalistic, feeding on benthopelagic/pelagic prey (67% by mass and 71% by number) but also benthic prey (32% by mass and 29% by number). Fish (67.8±4.7% in mass) are the main prey of conger eels, followed by cephalopods (16.5±3.8%) and crustaceans (15.6±3.7%). The most numerous (identifiable) fish consumed were Capros aper , occurring in 90% of the stomach samples that contained food and representing 1.4% in mass, and Scomber japonicus , the most important fish in mass (21.1%), which occurred in 4.2% of the stomach samples that contained food. The present study shows that octopodids can play a more important role in the diet of conger eels than previously thought. Of the species preyed upon by conger eels, six species (21% of the total prey taxa) are caught commercially (Trachurus trachurus, Scomber japonicus, Micromesistius poutassou, Helicolenus dactylopterus and Conger conger) by local fisheries. As discards by local trawl and longline fisheries do not correspond with the diet of C. conger , it is likely that most prey of C. conger in rocky areas were caught actively in that study region. Article in Journal/Newspaper North East Atlantic Cambridge University Press Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 90 3 493 501 |
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Open Polar |
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Cambridge University Press |
op_collection_id |
crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
description |
In order to understand how marine ecosystems function, it is essential to study the trophic interactions among the community members, particularly from poorly known regions. In this study, the feeding ecology and diet of conger eels, Conger conger , an abundant fish species with commercial interest, was examined in the north-east Atlantic, off Algarve (southern Portugal) between May 2005 and August 2006. The diet was characterized by species composition, size and mass of prey. Conger eels are opportunistic feeders, cannibalistic, feeding on benthopelagic/pelagic prey (67% by mass and 71% by number) but also benthic prey (32% by mass and 29% by number). Fish (67.8±4.7% in mass) are the main prey of conger eels, followed by cephalopods (16.5±3.8%) and crustaceans (15.6±3.7%). The most numerous (identifiable) fish consumed were Capros aper , occurring in 90% of the stomach samples that contained food and representing 1.4% in mass, and Scomber japonicus , the most important fish in mass (21.1%), which occurred in 4.2% of the stomach samples that contained food. The present study shows that octopodids can play a more important role in the diet of conger eels than previously thought. Of the species preyed upon by conger eels, six species (21% of the total prey taxa) are caught commercially (Trachurus trachurus, Scomber japonicus, Micromesistius poutassou, Helicolenus dactylopterus and Conger conger) by local fisheries. As discards by local trawl and longline fisheries do not correspond with the diet of C. conger , it is likely that most prey of C. conger in rocky areas were caught actively in that study region. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Xavier, José C. Cherel, Yves Assis, Carlos A. Sendão, João Borges, Teresa C. |
spellingShingle |
Xavier, José C. Cherel, Yves Assis, Carlos A. Sendão, João Borges, Teresa C. Feeding ecology of conger eels ( Conger conger) in north-east Atlantic waters |
author_facet |
Xavier, José C. Cherel, Yves Assis, Carlos A. Sendão, João Borges, Teresa C. |
author_sort |
Xavier, José C. |
title |
Feeding ecology of conger eels ( Conger conger) in north-east Atlantic waters |
title_short |
Feeding ecology of conger eels ( Conger conger) in north-east Atlantic waters |
title_full |
Feeding ecology of conger eels ( Conger conger) in north-east Atlantic waters |
title_fullStr |
Feeding ecology of conger eels ( Conger conger) in north-east Atlantic waters |
title_full_unstemmed |
Feeding ecology of conger eels ( Conger conger) in north-east Atlantic waters |
title_sort |
feeding ecology of conger eels ( conger conger) in north-east atlantic waters |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0025315409990555 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0025315409990555 |
genre |
North East Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North East Atlantic |
op_source |
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom volume 90, issue 3, page 493-501 ISSN 0025-3154 1469-7769 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0025315409990555 |
container_title |
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom |
container_volume |
90 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
493 |
op_container_end_page |
501 |
_version_ |
1802647951291449344 |