Feeding Relationships among Six Seagrass-associated Fishes in the Northeastern Gwangyang Bay, Southern Korea

Abstract

We conducted dietary analyses of six seagrass-associated fish species inhabiting northeastern Gwangyang Bay, Korea. These six species consumed a variety of benthic invertebrates and teleosts, but their preferences for different food resources varied. Although all species consumed crustaceans, the contributions of different crustacean taxa differed among the species’ diets. Caridean shrimps and crabs were a significant part of the Hexagrammos agrammus and H. otakii diets, respectively, while amphipods were consumed mainly by Sebastes inermis. Caridean shrimps and prawns were abundant within the Lateolabrax japonicas diet, but were not common prey resources for Pseudopleuronectes yokohamae or S. schlegelii. Polychaetes and ophiurids were ingested by P. yokohamae, and the former prey taxon also made moderate contributions to the diets of H. agrammus and L. japonicus. With the exception of P. yokohamae, the diets of all species included teleosts. Teleosts contributed the largest proportion of the S. schlegelii diet, followed by the S. inermis and L. japonicas diets; however, H. agrammus and H. otakii rarely consumed teleosts. Non-metric multidimensional scaling (nMDS) ordination plots and permutational analysis of variance (PERMANOVA) revealed the variation in dietary composition among species and the contributions of each prey taxon. These interspecific differences in diet increase the range of food resources available to these fishes, thereby reducing competition for resources within the fish community in this region.