Abstract

FERNANDEZ, César. Seasonal and interannual variation in the diet of the striped mullet, Mugil Cephalus Linnaeus, 1758, from Callao (12°S), in 2005 and 2013. Ecol. apl. [online]. 2014, vol.13, n.2, pp.211-223. ISSN 1726-2216.

A contribution to the trophic ecology of the stripped mullet, Mugil cephalus, is described. The study considered 3 807 stripped mullet specimens captured in the area of Callao (12°S) in 2005 and in 2013, from 0 to 05 nautical miles (nm). Samples were grouped into juveniles and adults. Two stomachs per size were analyzed and each of the contents were weighed. Then, they were grouped into six size ranges with half a centimeter apart. Stomach contents were filtered obtaining two subsamples (phytoplankton and zooplankton). Data were standardized and transformed from number to carbon. Individual carbon conversion factors (μg-1) were used for phytoplankton and zooplankton. Results showed that the diet was composed of upwelling diatoms (pelagic and benthic), dinoflagellates (cosmopolitan and thermophilic), silicoflagellates, tintinnids, copepoda, euphausiacea, occasional organisms and unidentified organic remains. Phytoplankton (99%) dominated in number and (46%) carbon. Variation in the diet responded better to seasonal changes in relation to the interannual and ontogenically stripped mullets juveniles and adults did not differ in their planktonic prey. Its trophic plasticity is one of the adaptations that have allowed them to live in anthropic environments.

Keywords : Mugil cephalus; striped mullet; diet; trophic ecology; carbon; Callao; Peru.

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