Evaluación del lavado gástrico como herramienta para el análisis de la dieta en trucha común

Abstract

Evaluation of the gastric lavage as a tool for the analysis of the brown trout diet The efcacy of the method of extracting stomach content, by means of the procedure of stomach washing through a pump, based on Seaburg's original model (1957), has been studied. The effectiveness of the method is not related to the size of thesh, but rather to the prey's own morphological characteristics, the degree of repletion of the stomach and the extent of digestion of the food. Thus, the effectiveness of the method is inversely related to the degree of repletion. Furthermore, bigger prey having rigid structures, such as Aeshnidae and Caddisies with cases are more difcult to expel. However, the observed differences in the effectiveness of expulsion between preys with similar characteristics are due to the extent of their digestion. Nevertheless, the average effectiveness of the method is high and in excess of 80 %. It is therefore a relatively simple and effective methodology and the reason why its use is appropriate for obtaining stomach content samples in young and adult brown trout.