Feeding strategy of Menticirrhus americanus and Menticirrhus littoralis (Perciformes: Sciaenidae) juveniles in a sandy beach surf zone of southern Brazil

Abstract

The diet and foraging strategy of juvenile Menticirrhus americanus (Linnaeus, 1758) and Menticirrhus littoralis(Holbrook, 1847) were studied, testing the existence of trophic overlap between these species and within different seasons (spring and summer). Individuals were sampled using a beach seine in the surf zone near Rio Grande, state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Based on Morisita’s Simplified Overlap Index and Bootstrapping technique, trophic overlap between species was considered high during the spring (Cik = 0.97 ± 0.07) and low during the summer (Cik = 0.37 ± 0.14). Juveniles shared the same food resources during the spring (FO of amphipods > 0.75), with the M. americanus diet presenting lower prey diversity (N = 7) when compared to M. littoralis (N = 13). In the summer, M. americanus presented a more varied diet (N = 13) than during the spring, suggesting a non-specialized opportunistic diet, whereas M. littoralis continued to show a diversified diet (N = 14). During the summer, M. americanus presented a generalistopportunist feeding strategy, whereas juvenile M. littoralis tended to be more specialist.