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ANCHOVY ENGRAULIS ENCRASICOLUS (LINNAEUS, 1758) DIET DURING THE SPAWNING SEASON IN THE EASTERN ADRIATIC SEA

Previous records showed that copepods (Bacha & Amara 2009) and crustacean larvae (Karachle & Stergiou 2014) were the most common prey in the E. encrasicolus diet. The dominance of decapod larvae during our study could be associate by the higher energy needs to accomplish its reproduction. The number of prey items in E. encrasicolus stomach slightly increased with fish size, as well as proportion of large crustaceans. We have also observed spatial differences ; prey diversity and mean wet weight of stomach contents (0.143 g) were higher in anchovies caught in the offshore waters than in the costal Adriatic waters (0.905 g) during E. encrasicolus spawning period. These differences, together with differences in prey species, indicate a tendency for a widening of the food spectrum in the areas of higher zooplankton diversity.

Small pelagic fish, anchovy, Adriatic, feeding habits, spawning season

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