Integrating stomach content and stable isotope analyses to elucidate the feeding habits of non-native sharptooth catfish Clarias gariepinus

Abstract

Sharptooth catfish Clarias gariepinus was introduced into the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, in 1976 and there are concerns about its possible negative impacts on native biota. This study investigated its trophic impact by examining its feeding habits. Stomach content and stable isotope analyses were compared from three localities—the Great Fish River, Sundays River and Glen Melville Dam. Stomach content analysis indicated a catholic diet dominated by fish particularly in all localities. Spatially, however, the diets revealed differences based on the dominance of macrophytes that were only present in the rivers, and aquatic invertebrates that appeared more diverse within the Great Fish River compared to other localities. By contrast, stable isotopes revealed a more generalised feeding pattern with no clear dominance of particular prey. Stable isotopes further showed that the catfish was a complex predator, with large catfish being top predators whereas smaller size groups appeared to feed lower in the food chain. An ontogenetic shift in diet was evident, with small fish predominantly consuming aquatic invertebrates and shifting towards fish with increasing size. High dietary overlap suggests the potential risk associated catfish feeding, especially the potential of piscivory by small catfish that are more likely to persist in shallow and marginal where endangered indigenous minnows occur. The alteration of environmental conditions, especially flow by inter-basin water transfer (IBWT) schemes, was inferred to have had a probable influence its invasion success. Occurrence of other invaders, which was facilitated by the IBWT together with the catfish, posits the risk of invasion meltdown within the study systems.