Determination of Feeding Characteristics of Toothcarp Aphanius fasciatus (Valenciennes, 1821) in İzmir Littoral Water
Project no. 1158 · Status: Kapanmış · 2015
Summary
The purpose of the study is to determine the food composition of Aphanius fasciatus (Mediterranean tootcarp) in the coastal waters of the city of İzmir. Fish samples were collected by beach seine net from Homa Lagoon, Gülbahçe Bay and Çamaltı Salt marsh in spring, summer and autumn 2016 and winter 2017. A total of 800 fish, 580 females and 220 males collected in the study period of which length distributions were 1.60-6.40 cm and 2.30-5.00 cm for females and males respectively. From the total examined 646 stomach, 473 of them were found with food items and 73 of them were empty. A total of 27 food items were determined from the stomach content analysis. In summer and spring the food items were the most diverse in the stomachs with 19 and 18 different groups respectively. In autumn and winter there were only 9 food groups were identified in the stomachs. However it could be changed related with the seasons, Chironomidae (pupa and adult), Amphipoda, Crustacea egg, Harpacticoid copepoda and Foraminifera were found to be most important food groups in terms of both numerical and frequency of occurance in the stomachs.