Feeding habits and trophic level of the Panama grunt Pomadasys panamensis, an important bycatch species from the shrimp trawl fishery in the Gulf of California.
The Panama grunt is an abundant and commercially important species in the southeastern Gulf of California, but the research undertaken on this species is scarce despite its ecological and economic importance. We studied the feeding habits of Panama grunt through stomach content analyses as a first step towards understanding the biology of this species in the study area. Our results indicate that the Panama grunt is a benthic predator throughout its life cycle and feeds mainly on infaunal crustaceans. Diet differences among grunt were not found according to size, diet, or season. Shannon diversity index results indicate that Panama grunt has a limited trophic niche breadth with a diet dominated by a limited number of taxa as crustaceans. The estimated trophic level of this species is 3.59. Overall, the Panama grunt is a carnivorous fish occupying the intermediate levels of the trophic pyramid.
Posgrado en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Exterior s/n Ciudad Universitaria, 04510 México, DF, Mexico.
José A
JA
Rodríguez-Preciado
Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Avenida Joel Montes Camarena s/n, 82040 Mazatlán, SIN, Mexico.
Felipe
F
Amezcua
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, P.O. Box 999, Richland, WA 99352, USA.
Brian
B
Bellgraph
Instituto Nacional de Pesca, Centro Regional de Investigación Pesquera Mazatlán, Avenida Sábalo-Cerritos s/n, 82100 Mazatlán, SIN, Mexico.
Juan
J
Madrid-Vera
D000818:Animals; D002140:California; D003445:Crustacea / Q000502:physiology; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D020387:Food Chain; D005766:Gastrointestinal Contents / Q000737:chemistry; D008297:Male; D010473:Perciformes / Q000502:physiology*