Feeding Habits and Reproduction Period of Sepia officinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) Captured from East Mediterranean Sea

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Abstract

This study aimed to investigate some biological aspects of Common cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) as feeding habits and the reproductive cycle in the East Mediterranean Sea. Stomach fullness index (FUI), relative importance index (IRI%), sex ratio, gonado-somatic index, and the reproductive cycle were investigated among 590 S. officinalis samples from September 2016 to August 2017 where 55.76% of gutted empty stomachs (FUI 0) and 11.53% were full stomachs (FUI 4). The study revealed that fishes, crustaceans, and cephalopods were the most preferred prey by males and females. The overall sex ratio record was dominated by males during the year but females were dominant in November and March. Male’s gonads activity starts to reproduce in winter and spring while female’s gonads activity starts to reproduce in autumn and winter. Data analyzed at the present work conclude that S. officinalis is multi-feeding mollusks that consume a wide range of prey taxa also, its reproductive cycle extends for at least 6 months.

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