Dinh, Quang Minh, Truong, Ngon Trong, Nguyen, Ton Huu Duc, Lam, Tran Thi Huyen, Nguyen, Tien Thi Kieu, Le, Dung Quang, and Das, Simon (2022) Feeding ecology of Ellochelon vaigiensis (Quoy & Gaimard, 1825) living in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Ecology and Evolution, 12 (9). e9352.

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Abstract

Ellochelon vaigiensis (squaretail mullet) adapts to a wide salt spectrum, grows quickly and is easy to raise with other species, so it is the object of attention in aquaculture. Information on the biology and ecology of the species, diet, in particular, is still scattered. Here, we explore the feeding habit, feeding intensity, and food composition of the squaretail mullet. A total of 942 fish (526 males and 416 females) were collected from November 2020 to October 2021 at four coastal sites in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. The squaretail mullet is an algi-omnivorous fish, as their relative gut length (1.81) falls into the range 1–3, and the diet is mostly based on algae. The feeding intensity is high due to the high value of the fullness index (4.39 ± 0.08%). The fullness index did not vary by sampling site and month, while RGL and FI changed depending on sex. Bacillariophyta (49.13%), detritus derived from organic matter (30.37%), and Cyanophyta (18.39%) are the dominant food items in the diet composition of E. vaigiensis, in which detritus is the most important food with the highest IRI index. Besides, Euglenophyta (1.00%), Chlorophyta (0.95%), Paramecium (0.06%), Copepoda (0.04%), Rotatoria (0.03%), Polychaeta (0.02%), and Cladocera (0.01%) are also recorded and ranked based on their biovolume. Some differences in diet composition are observed between immature and mature at different seasons and their interactions. Our results increase the knowledge about the feeding ecology of squaretail mullet and can help the sustainable management of this commercially important fish species.

Item ID:	83992
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	2045-7758
Keywords:	algi-omnivorous,diet composition,feeding biology,feeding intensity,squaretail mullet,conservation ecology
Related URLs:	https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1...
Copyright Information:	© 2022 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Date Deposited:	12 Nov 2024 22:39
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