McKaye Kenneth R, Marsh Alan
Duke University Marine Laboratory, Pivers Island, 28516, Beaufort, North Carolian, USA.
Desert Ecology Unit, P. O. Box 953, Walvis Bay, Namibia.
Oecologia. 1983 Feb;56(2-3):245-248. doi: 10.1007/BF00379697.
Two cichlid species morphological specialized for scraping algae were observed in Lake Malawi also to feed extensively upon zooplankton, phytoplankton, detritus, fish fry and fish eggs. These field observations confirm laboratory studies that cichlids are facultative in their feeding repertoire. Such an ability contributes to the success of the family Cichlidae. We hypothesize that the morphological specializations become critically important when food resources are low and effective cropping is required.
在马拉维湖观察到两种形态上专门用于刮食藻类的丽鱼科鱼类，它们也大量摄食浮游动物、浮游植物、碎屑、鱼苗和鱼卵。这些实地观察结果证实了实验室研究，即丽鱼科鱼类在其食物种类方面具有兼食性。这种能力有助于丽鱼科的成功。我们推测，当食物资源匮乏且需要有效觅食时，这种形态上的专门化就变得至关重要。
