A study on Diet Composition and Feeding Habits of Barracuda fish (Sphyraena chrysotaenia and S. flavicauda) in the Gulf of Suez

M. Osman, Hanan; A. El Ganainy, Azza; M. Amin, Amal

doi:10.21608/ejabf.2019.26694

A study on Diet Composition and Feeding Habits of Barracuda fish (Sphyraena chrysotaenia and S. flavicauda) in the Gulf of Suez

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

10.21608/ejabf.2019.26694

Abstract

The most common and commercial species of Family Sphyraenidae in the Gulf of Suezare Sphyraena chrysotaenia and S. flavicauda. A total of 865 individuals of S. chrysotaenia and 71 individuals of S. flavicauda were collected for food and feeding studies. The feeding intensity estimated as full stomach percent were represented by 37% and 59.2%, while the empty stomach were represented by 63% and 40.8% for S. chrysotaenia and S. flavicauda respectively. The relative length of gut indicated that both species were carnivorous as RLG= 0.29 and 0.15 for S. chrysotaenia and S. flavicauda respectively. The fullness index for the two species showed seasonal variations, as the highest fullness percent were recorded during winter, where the lowest fullness percent was observed during spring for both species. The most important food items for S. chrysotenia were fish with IRI% of 16023.6 followed by crustaceans with IRI% of 1452.36. The most important food items for S. flavicauda were crustaceans followed by fishes then mollusks, where IRI% were 1482, 1429 and 910 respectively. The prey sizes have a positive relationship with length of fish for both species.

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