The diet of native and invasive fish species along the eastern Mediterranean coast (Osteichthyes).

The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 enabled the invasion of more than 100 alien fish species into the Mediterranean. The aim of the present study was to compare the diet of native and alien fish species and to identify possibly shared food resources. We examined the diet composition of 13 of the most abundant fish species (6 alien, 7 native) on shallow soft bottom off southern Israel. All 13 species are omnivorous/carnivorous. The native fish exhibited a wider diversity of food types than the aliens. Alien fish prey upon and are preyed by native species as well as by other alien fish. A high level of diet overlap was found among some species, the aliensSaurida lessepsianusandScomberomorus commersonoverlapped with the nativeSynodus saurus; and the alienNemipterus randalliwith the native speciesPagrus caeruleostictus, Lithognathus mormyrusandPagellus erythrinus. The identified diet overlap is discussed, and the possibility of competitive interactions between these species is considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]