Abstract
The goatfishes (Mullidae) include about 50 bottom-foraging fish species. The foraging activity of the yellow goatfish, Mulloidichthys martinicus, and the spotted goatfish, Pseudupeneus maculatus, was studied comparatively at Fernando de Noronha Archipelago, off coast of Northeast Brazil tropical West Atlantic. Pseudupeneus maculatus fed over a larger variety of substrate types, had lower feeding rate, roamed more per given time, spent less time in a feeding event, and displayed a more diverse repertoire of feeding modes than M. martinicus. The differences in the foraging activity and behaviour between the two species possibly minimize a potential resource overlap, as already recorded for other sympatric mullids. Pseudupeneus maculatus had lower feeding rate most likely because it feeds on larger items, and roamed over greater distance per time. Possibly this is because it foraged over a greater variety of substrate distributed over a larger area than that used by M. martinicus. Notwithstanding the overall morphological and behavioural similarity of goatfishes in general, they do differ in their substrate preferences and foraging activity, which indicates that these fishes should not be simply considered generalized bottom foragers.
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Acknowledgements
We thank J.M. Silva-Jr (Centro Golfinho Rotador) and the Projeto Tamar (C. Bellini and A. Grossman) for logistical support at Fernando de Noronha Archipelago; the Ibama (M.A. Silva) for logistical support and issuing study permits at Fernando de Noronha Archipelago; the Águas Claras, Atlantis, and Noronha Divers diving centres for allowing free use of their facilities; S. R. Floeter, F. P. P. Leite, V. Lukoschek, V. S. Uieda, for suggestion on the manuscript; P. R. Guimarães-Jr. for help with the statistical analysis; the CAPES, CNPq, FAEP-Unicamp, FAPESP, and PROAP-UNICAMP for financial support.
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Krajewski, J.P., Bonaldo, R.M., Sazima, C. et al. Foraging activity and behaviour of two goatfish species (Perciformes: Mullidae) at Fernando de Noronha Archipelago, tropical West Atlantic. Environ Biol Fish 77, 1–8 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-006-9046-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-006-9046-z