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Preliminary data on the feeding habits of Synodus saurus (Linnaeus, 1758) from the eastern Adriatic Sea

Preliminary investigations on the feeding habits of Synodus saurus from the eastern Adriatic Sea were undertaken in 2018. Until recently, this fish was considered rare in the eastern Adriatic, but in recent the years it became relatively common in the middle Adriatic. Samples were collected from the beach seine fishery operating in the cold period of the year while lower number of samples were collected from gill-nets in the warmer period of the year. In all, 119 specimen of S. saurus were collected for the analysis of its feeding habits. Food items were found in 62 stomachs and vacuity index for the whole sample was 47, 9%. Our results showed that preffered and most frequent food items were fishes Spicara smaris (16%) and Sardina pilchardus (13, 5%). Beside these, Atherina sp. was also notable prey item. Almost all prey items were fishes indicating strictly piscivorous nature of this species. The only other prey items were cephalopods, but with very low frequency of occurrence (1, 7%). Due to unavailability of the specimens throughout the year, mostly as a result of temporal restrictions of fishing gear used for samplings, we were not able to provide an analysis of importance of prey items in different seasons. However, there was a notable difference in main food index (MFI) with Spicara smaris dominating in the colder part of the year, and Sardina pilchardus in warmer.

Adriatic Sea, Synodus saurus, feeding habits, Spicara smaris, Sardina pilchardus

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