Nuno Castro

Trophic ecology of a coastal fish assemblage in Portuguese waters

INRB/IPIMAR, Instituto de Investigac¸a˜o das Pescas e do Mar, Avenida de Brasi´lia, 1449-006 Lisboa, PortugalThe diets and trophic ecology of the dominant fish species from the marine coastal region of Aveiro (north-westernPortugal) caught during a summer survey were studied. Mysids were the most important prey group for the fish assemblageanalysed. As a consequence, there was a high dietary overlap between species and a low incidence of piscivory. Nevertheless,a clear segregation of trophic niches was observed, with one group (comprising the species Chelidonichthys cuculus,Callionymus lyra, Dicologlossa cuneata and Pomatoschistus lozanoi) showing a stronger preference for infaunal epibenthicprey, such as polychaetes and amphipods, another group (including Arnoglossus imperialis, Arnoglossus laterna,Chelidonichthys obscurus, Chelidonichthys lucernus, Echiichthys vipera, Pagellus acarne and Trisopterus luscus)preying mostly upon suprabenthic prey, mainly mysids, and a third group (Engraulis encrasicolus and Trachurustrachurus) feeding largely on planktonic prey like copepods. Some species, including A. imperialis, C. lyra, E. vipera,T. trachurus and T. luscus, showed ontogenic diet shifts that may be related to the habitat occupied by different size-classes and/or to their ability to capture prey of different size.Keywords: fish community, trophic structure, ontogenic shifts, niche overlap, mysids, piscivory