Faculty of Science and Technology, Prince of Songkla University, Pattani, Thailand.
City University of Hong Kong, Kao Loon, Hong Kong.
PeerJ. 2023 Jan 30;11:e14688. doi: 10.7717/peerj.14688. eCollection 2023.
This study assessed the feeding habits of four-finger threadfin fish, , and its diet relationship with other fish species in the tropics. Fish samples were collected from four locations along the coastal regions of Thailand. A whole year field sampling event was conducted to investigate the diet relationship of threadfin fish with other ten co-existing fish species in Pattani Bay during January 2021 and January 2022. was an active and specific predator with significant diet shift during ontogeny. Specifically, the juvenile fish fed largely on zooplankton especially /shrimp postlarvae, and small sized-fish fed on penaeid shrimps, while medium and large-sized fish shifted their diets to a combination of penaeid shrimp, fish and squid. Size and sex of fish as well as site of collection significantly affected gut fullness index and average number of food type ( < 0.05). Transitional sex fish predated almost entirely on other fishes (87.2%), whereas male and female fish fed mainly on penaeid shrimp (66.5%) and other fish (51.3%), respectively. Fish size and mouth opening controlled the size of prey, with the larger fish with larger mouth-opening fed primarily on the larger size of prey. Moreover, shared its diets inclusively with , and Penaeid shrimp and teleost fish were the main food types shared by these fishes. This study provided important information on the feeding habits of and its diet relationship with other co-existing fish species living in the same habitat of a tropical coastal region.
本研究评估了四指马鲅的摄食习性，以及其与热带地区其他鱼类的食物关系。在泰国沿海地区的四个地点采集了鱼类样本。2021 年 1 月至 2022 年 1 月，进行了一整年的野外采样活动，以调查帕塔尼湾四指马鲅与其他十种共存鱼类的食物关系。四指马鲅是一种活跃的、特化的捕食者，在个体发育过程中存在显著的食性转变。具体来说，幼鱼主要以浮游动物（特别是虾幼体）为食，小型鱼类以对虾为食，而中型和大型鱼类的食物则转向对虾、鱼类和鱿鱼的组合。鱼的大小和性别以及采集地点显著影响肠道饱满指数和食物类型的平均数量（<0.05）。过渡性性别鱼类几乎完全以其他鱼类为食（87.2%），而雄性和雌性鱼类主要以对虾（66.5%）和其他鱼类（51.3%）为食。鱼的大小和口的张开控制着猎物的大小，口较大的大鱼主要以较大的猎物为食。此外，四指马鲅与、和共享其食物，对虾和硬骨鱼类是这些鱼类共同的主要食物类型。本研究提供了有关四指马鲅摄食习性及其与热带沿海地区同一生境中其他共存鱼类的食物关系的重要信息。
