Australian Centre for Tropical Freshwater Research, James Cook University, Queensland 4811, Australia.
J Fish Biol. 2009 Jul;74(10):2386-400. doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8649.2009.02254.x.
Experimental tanks were used to observe predatory effects in three different size classes of Mozambique tilapia Oreochromis mossambicus (one of the world's most widespread exotic species and generally regarded to be a herbivore or both herbivore and detritivore) when tested against 10 juvenile Australian freshwater fish species, and significant levels of predation against all were recorded. There was a general trend for larger O. mossambicus to kill more prey and this was also reflected in a separate series of experiments using juvenile barramundi Lates calcarifer over a range of size classes. Predatory effects by O. mossambicus broadly reflected the accepted models of predator-prey interactions, being that mortality (and survival) was closely related to relative body size and mouth gape limitation. Experimental evidence for piscivory in O. mossambicus was supported by field sampling that detected prey fish remains in 16% of all fish surveyed (n = 176). The recognition of active piscivory by O. mossambicus in laboratory and field situations is the first such evidence, and suggests a need to re-evaluate the nature of their effects in introduced environments.
实验水箱用于观察三种不同大小规格的莫桑比克罗非鱼（Oreochromis mossambicus）（世界上分布最广的外来物种之一，通常被认为是草食性或兼食性动物）对 10 种澳大利亚淡水鱼类幼鱼的捕食效应，记录到了对所有鱼类的显著捕食水平。较大的 O. mossambicus 捕杀更多猎物的趋势较为明显，这在使用不同大小规格的幼年巴沙鱼（Lates calcarifer）进行的一系列单独实验中也得到了反映。O. mossambicus 的捕食效应大致反映了已被接受的捕食者-猎物相互作用模型，即死亡率（和存活率）与相对体型和口裂限制密切相关。O. mossambicus 具有食鱼性的实验证据得到了野外采样的支持，在所有调查鱼类的 16%（n = 176）中发现了猎物鱼类的遗骸。在实验室和野外环境中，O. mossambicus 主动捕食鱼类的行为首次得到证实，这表明需要重新评估它们在引入环境中的影响性质。
