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Spatial variation in the feeding strategies of Mediterranean fish. Flatfish and mullet in the Gulf of Gaeta (Italy)
- Publication Year :
- 2019
- Publisher :
- Springer Netherlands, 2019.
-
Abstract
- Marine coastal areas are highly productive due to the presence of various inputs of organic matter, including terrestrial material, which fuels food webs. However, the ecological mechanisms underlying the productivity of benthic and demersal fish species in estuarine areas are poorly understood. By means of C and N stable isotope analysis and Bayesian mixing models, we investigated the trophic niches of three common fish species: Citharus linguatula, Pegusa lascaris (flatfish) and Liza ramada (mullet) in the Gulf of Gaeta (Italy). Fish were collected from the north-western area and the south-eastern area of the Gulf of Gaeta, the latter affected by organic inputs from the Garigliano River. The results highlighted the riverine terrestrial origin of the organic matter at the base of the food web in the south-eastern area and marine autochthonous input in the north-western area. All fish species increased their trophic specialisation in proximity to the river mouth. L. ramada specialised on seston of terrestrial origin, reducing its niche overlap with C. linguatula and P. lascaris. Away from the river mouth, all species were characterised by longer individuals, increased intraspecific diet variability and higher interspecific similarity in resource use. Organic input from the river represented a complementary trophic niche axis that enabled lower interspecific niche overlap in the south-eastern area, where fish populations were found at higher densities. In conclusion, this study provided information about the effects of the flow of material from the basal compartment up to abundant fish species in areas enriched by organic matter of varying origin.
- Subjects :
- 0106 biological sciences
Ecological niche
biology
Ecology
010604 marine biology & hydrobiology
estuarine and coastal waters
Pegusa lascaris
stable isotopes
Interspecific competition
Aquatic Science
biology.organism_classification
010603 evolutionary biology
01 natural sciences
Food web
Mullet
Liza ramada
trophic niche
Demersal fish
Citharus linguatula
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Isotope analysis
Trophic level
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....836dbb88b50f46b912265c6b25a62977