Diet of two invading gobiid species (Proterorhinus semilunaris and Neogobius melanostomus) during the breeding and hatching season: No field evidence of extensive predation on fish eggs and fry

Abstract

Abstract One of the potential impacts of invasive gobies on native fish fauna is predation on eggs and fry. Therefore, the diet composition of two invading gobiid species, the tubenose goby Proterorhinus semilunaris and round goby Neogobius melanostomus, was examined in the Dyje river system (Danube basin, Central Europe) during the 2011 reproductive season to ascertain the extent of gobiid predation on heterospecific and conspecific eggs and juveniles. Consumption of fish eggs and juveniles by invading gobies was very low. The diets of both species consisted largely of benthic macroinvertebrates, and particularly insect larvae. These results indicate that invading gobies in the Dyje river system are likely to impact native fish fauna more through competitive effects than through direct predation on eggs and juveniles.