Prey selection and dietary overlap of shortfinned (Anguilla australis) and longfinned (A. dieffenbachii) eels during summer in the Horokiwi Stream, New Zealand

Abstract

Benthic macroinvertebrates were collected and the diets of shortfinned eels (Anguilla australis) and longfinned eels (Anguilla dieffenbachii) inhabiting a small coastal New Zealand stream were examined to investigate intraspecific and interspecific trophic partitioning and prey selection. Our results showed intraspecific segregation of preferred prey among three size classes of juvenile shortfinned eels, but there was significant overlap between different size classes of longfinned eels. All size classes of both species of eel fed nocturnally on similar prey, and so there was no indication of temporal or trophic segregation. Therefore, habitat separation is assumed to be the main mechanism to reduce interspecific competition in these two co‐occurring species of eels.