Diets of the Arkansas River Shiner and Peppered Chub in the Canadian River, New Mexico and Texas

Abstract

ABSTRACT We examined the digestive tract contents of 1,437 Arkansas River shiners (Notropis girardi) and 1,943 peppered chubs (Macrhybopsis tetranema) collected from the Canadian River in New Mexico and Texas from September 1996 to August 1998. Both the Arkansas River shiner and peppered chub are generalist feeders, with terrestrial and aquatic insects representing 28 and 31%, respectively, by weight, of their diets. Detritus, plant materials, and sand-silt represented 26, 6, and 40%, respectively, of the Arkansas River shiner diet and 25, 28, and 17% of the peppered chub diet. The presence of sand-silt in the diets of both species suggests they forage among sediments on the river bottom. The common occurrence of terrestrial insects (i.e., Coleoptera, Hymenoptera) in the diet of the Arkansas River shiner indicates this species also feeds in the water column on drifting invertebrates.