Size-selective feeding on phytoplankton by two morpho-groups of the small freshwater fish Amblypharyngodon mola.

Abstract

Two morpho-groups (i.e., small, MGS and big, MGL) of the small freshwater fish Amblypharyngodon mola were studied for their feeding behaviour in the natural environment. Both the morpho-groups fed on a variety of phytoplankton including Cyanophyceae, Chlorophyceae, Bacillariophyceae and Euglenophyceae. The fish had more Chlorophyceae and Bacillariophyceae in their gut than other phytoplankton. Costello's selectivity plots revealed that the MGS fed on the smaller phytoplankters (2-6 µm in size), whereas the MGL fed on both the small and large (up to 12 µm in size) phytoplankters. The differences in mouth areas between the two morpho-groups were explained as a possible reason of size-selective feeding and contribute to overcome gape limitation in A. mola. This is further accompanied by the uniform pore size of the gills (2 µm) in all the morpho-groups. This study concluded that A. mola exhibits a size-dependent feeding strategy regulated by gape limitation at the ingestion level. With ontogenetic shifts, flexibility appears to overcome such a limitation in the MGL, having a wider mouth area supported by jaw opening ability.