engleski

Diet composition of blackspotted smooth-hound, Mustelus punctulatus (Risso, 1826), in the eastern Adriatic Sea

The purpose of the present study was to provide a qualitative and quantitative description of the diet and length-weight relationship (LWR)of the blackspotted smooth-hound in the eastern Adriatic Sea. Samples of blackspotted smooth-hound were taken from four localities in the eastern Adriatic at depths from 70 and 160 m.A total of 145 specimens were collected during daylight hours from January 2001 to February 2003. During the autumn and winter, 85 specimens were caught, while 40 specimens were caught in spring and 20 in summer.The diet was consisted of six major systematic groups: Cephalopoda, Polychaeta, Crustacea (Stomatopoda, Decapoda), Enteropneusta, Tunicata and Teleostei. Decapoda crustaceans were the most frequently observed prey, constituting 65.0% of the total IRI, followed by teleosts (%IRI = 30.0). The relative importance of cephalopods, polychaets, enteropneusta and tunicates was comparatively low. It should be taken into consideration that, as a result of the degree of digestion of the prey, the determination to the level of species often was not possible. However, at the species level, the decapods Liocarcinus depurator (%IRI = 19.8), followed by teleosts Sardina pilchardus (%IRI = 7.9), were the most frequent preys.

diet; Mustelus punctulatus; Eastern Adriatic

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