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Special Issue "Trophic Ecology of Fishes"

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A special issue of Fishes (ISSN 2410-3888). This special issue belongs to the section "Biology and Ecology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2023 | Viewed by 1966

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. R. J. David Wells

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Guest Editor

Department of Marine Biology, Texas A&M University at Galveston, Galveston, TX 77553, USA
Interests: shark biology; marine fisheries ecology; feeding, movement; life history

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Studies investigating the trophic ecology of fishes can provide useful data on trophic position, sources of production, and energy pathways. Examination of predatory diets and trophic interactions, with the paired identification of sources of primary production, is needed to better understand relationships between fishes and their habitats. Conventional stomach content analysis and natural tracer methods (i.e., bulk stable isotopes, amino acid compound-specific stable isotopes, fatty acids) are used to reconstruct feeding patterns and discern complex trophic interactions in aquatic ecosystems. Therefore, the aim of this Special Issue is to better understand the trophic ecology of fishes to examine food web structure, delineate pathways of energy flow, and examine predator-prey linkages. Papers addressing these topics are welcome to this Special Issue.

Dr. R. J. David Wells
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Fishes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

trophic ecology
feeding interactions
predator–prey
stomach contents
natural tracers

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Regional Variation in Feeding Patterns of Sheepshead (Archosargus probatocephalus) in the Northwest Gulf of Mexico

and

Fishes 2023, 8(4), 188; https://doi.org/10.3390/fishes8040188 - 30 Mar 2023

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Abstract

Feeding patterns of sheepshead, Archosargus probatocephalus, in the northwest Gulf of Mexico were examined from samples collected at two locations in Texas, USA; Galveston and Port Aransas. A total of 53 sheepshead stomachs (Galveston, n = 35; Port Aransas, n = 18) had their contents analyzed along with tissue samples from the muscle and liver for a stable isotope analysis (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, and δ³⁴S) because they provide a contrast between short-term (liver) and long-term (muscle) measurements. Multiple species of amphipods made up the majority of the prey items in sheepshead from Galveston (%IRI = 61.79), whereas barnacles were the primary diet item for sheepshead collected in Port Aransas (%IRI = 39.53). We observed diet shifts prior to and during the spawning season. MANOVA revealed significant differences in δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, and δ³⁴S stable isotope values from the muscle and liver tissue of sheepshead based on the location. In both muscle and liver samples, δ¹³C values were lower in Galveston than Port Aransas, but δ¹⁵N and δ³⁴S values were higher in Galveston than Port Aransas. Niche size and overlap also differed between sheepshead from both locations and tissue types. Sheepshead collected in Galveston had a larger niche size in the muscle and liver samples ((mean ± SD) 479.3 ± 131.2, muscle; 433.3 ± 120.3, liver) than Port Aransas (178.8 ± 54.3, muscle; 270.0 ± 80.9, liver). The trophic niche of sheepshead from Galveston overlapped Port Aransas in muscle samples by 16.47% and 18.56% in liver samples. The trophic niche overlap of sheepshead from Port Aransas measured in muscle samples overlapped with sheepshead from Galveston by 18.49% and by 39.17% in liver samples. This study shows that there are subtle but significant differences between the diets of sheepshead along the Texas coast, with the majority of the differences potentially attributable to differences in the prey field along the natural salinity gradient of the Texas coast. This work provides an insight into the widely generalist grazing behavior of sheepshead, which potentially changes during the springtime spawning season. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Trophic Ecology of Fishes)

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Open AccessArticle

Integrative Analysis to Manage Aquatic Resources Based on Fish Feeding Patterns in Neotropical Rivers

Estevan Luiz da Silveira

Nabil Semmar

Eduardo Luis Cupertino Ballester

and

André Martins Vaz-dos-Santos

Fishes 2023, 8(3), 157; https://doi.org/10.3390/fishes8030157 - 06 Mar 2023

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Abstract

Feeding ecology is an integrative procedure to highlight different diets, associating feeding trends with governing and regulation factors characterizing foraging species and their environments, respectively. The diet variability of seven fish species forming a community in a Neotropical riverine system was analyzed to characterize the resource and consumer linkages, providing a detailed assessment of adaptive feeding behaviors of fishes living in different ecological states transiting from natural/resilient spaces to anthropic pressions-linked disturbed ones. Fishes were sampled along four sites during a year, and their stomach contents were analyzed. Feeding data were analyzed by applying quali- and quantitative methods with multi-levels and multifactor aspects to determine target food categories (percentage of occurrence) and identify feeding patterns (correspondence and cluster analyses, CA-HCA). Factors and scales governing target food categories were also tested. A total of 483 stomachs were dissected, and 30 food categories were identified. CA-HCA highlighted 10 feeding trends (FTs) combining several foods co-occurring at distinct levels. These FTs indicated characteristic diets and high diversity of feeding behaviors concerning multiple and narrow diets, different alimentary needs related to ecomorphological features, different plasticity ranges (adaptability, tolerance) and a spatial governing effect (headwater to river mouth environmental quality loss). These multiple factors provided essential information on overcoming ways of environmental constraints and optimization ways of food balances helping to better manage the richness and working of neotropical river systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Trophic Ecology of Fishes)

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Open AccessArticle

Food Web Connectivity in a Mangrove–Seagrass–Patch Reef (MSP) Seascape: Lessons from a Tropical Back-Reef in Puerto Rico

and

Beatrice Padovani Ferreira

Fishes 2023, 8(1), 44; https://doi.org/10.3390/fishes8010044 - 08 Jan 2023

Viewed by 872

Abstract

Alterations to the functions and connectivity of mangrove–seagrass–patch reef (MSP) seascapes have the potential to impact the survival, foraging activities, and movement of reef-dependent invertebrates (e.g., crabs and shrimp) and fishes. In the current study, we examined carbon flow in the Guánica Biosphere Reserve in southwestern Puerto Rico using pigment analysis of particulate organic matter and stable isotope analysis of carbon (δ¹³C) and nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) in flora and fauna. Several lines of evidence pointed to N₂ fixers (cyanobacteria) being important for fueling primary productivity in this oligotrophic ecosystem including low (<0.7 µg L⁻¹) chlorophyll, prevalence of cyanobacteria based on pigment signatures, and the isotope signatures of seagrass and red mangrove leaf tissue (enriched δ¹⁵N values) and consumers (depleted δ¹⁵N values). Food web mixing models based on stable isotopes (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N) revealed that multiple producers (phytoplankton, benthic microalgae, seagrasses, etc.) contributed organic matter to the consumers (zooplankton, invertebrates, and fishes) in the MSP seascape at the center of the reserve. Contribution estimates for common benthic invertebrates (crabs and shrimp) were taxon-specific, and the highest input was generally linked to particulate organic matter (POM) and benthic microalgae (BMA)/seagrass producer categories, although meaningful mangrove contribution was observed for some taxa. Similarly, contribution estimates for fishes were highest for POM and BMA/seagrass, with the latter producer category being more important for species known to migrate from mangroves or patch reefs to seagrass beds at night (bluestriped grunt, French grunt, and white grunt). Although all fish investigated were observed in mangrove prop-root habitats, input of organic matter from mangroves to these consumers was typically limited for most of the species examined. Understanding these complex seascapes contributes to our understanding of the ecology of these vital ecosystems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Trophic Ecology of Fishes)

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