FEEDING HABITS OF COBIA IN PERNAMBUCO, NORTHEASTERN BRAZIL
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.20950/1678-2305.2019.45.1.379Keywords:
Rachycentridae, feeding strategy, diet composition, stomach contents, carnivorous predatorAbstract
The feeding habits of cobia, Rachycentron canadum, was described along the coast of Pernambuco State, northeastern Brazil. One hundred ten specimens were caught between February 2004 and August 2006 with fork length ranging from 40.0 to 137.0 cm (mean and standard deviation: 85.8 ± 18.0 cm) and total weight between 0.4 and 29.8 kg (7.5 ± 4.4 kg). The importance of each food item in the diet was evaluated using the index of relative importance (IRI). Among the one hundred ten stomachs analyzed (52 females and 58 males), 92 (83.6%) had food items, while 18 (16.4%) were empty. Bony fish were the main food item (IRI = 98.7%), being squirrelfish (Holocentrus adscensionis) and porcupine fish (Diodon sp.) the most frequent prey items (30.7% and 8.2%, respectively). Elasmobranchs, crustaceans and cephalopods were also present in small proportions (IRI < 1% for each). No significant differences in diet were found between sexes or size classes (fork length: < or â"°¥ 69.8 cm; estimated L50 for the species). The present data demonstrate that cobia is a carnivorous predator along the coast of Pernambuco State, with a preference for demersal bony fish, independently of the size and sex of the individuals analyzed.
References
Arnold, C.R.; Kaiser, J.B.; Holt, G.J. 2002. Spawning of cobia (Rachycentron canadum) in captivity. Journal of the World Aquaculture Society, 33(2): 205-208. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-7345.2002.tb00496.x
Barbieri, E.; Doi, S. A. 2012. Acute toxicity of ammonia on juvenile Cobia (Rachycentron canadum, Linnaeus, 1766) according to the salinity. Aquaculture International, 20(2): 373-382.
Benetti, D.D.; Orhun, M.R.; Sardenberg, B.; O’Hanlon, B.; Welch, A.; Hoenig, R.; Zink, I.; Rivera, J.A.; Denlinger, B.; Bacoat, D.; Palmer, K.; Cavalin, F. 2008. Advances in hatchery and grow-out technology of cobia Rachycentron canadum (Linnaeus). Aquaculture Research, 39(7): 701-711. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2109.2008.01922.x
Bizarrro, J.J.; Robinson, H.J.; Rinewalt, C.S.; Ebert, D.A. 2007. Comparative feeding ecology of four sympatric skate species off central California, USA. Environmental Biology Fishes, 80(2/3): 197-220. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-007-9241-6
Brasil, 2008. Estatística da pesca - 2007 - Brasil. Ministério do Meio Ambiente, IBAMA Coordenação-Geral de Gestão de Recursos Pesqueiros. Brasília.
Brasil, 2013. Boletim estatístico da Pesca e Aquicultura í Brasil 2011. Ministério da Pesca e Aquicultura. Brasília.
Carpenter, K.E. 2002a. The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Volume 1: Introduction, molluscs, crustaceans, hagfishes, sharks, batoid fishes, and chimaeras. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes and American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Special Publication No. 5. Rome: FAO. 600p.
Carpenter, K.E. 2002b. The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Volume 2: Bony fishes part 1 (Acipenseridae to Grammatidae). FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes and American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Special Publication No. 5. Rome: FAO. 774p.
Carpenter, K.E. 2002c. The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Volume 3: Bony fishes part 2 (Opistognathidae to Molidae), sea turtles and marine mammals. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes and American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Special Publication No. 5. Rome: FAO. 753p.
Carvalho Filho, A. 1999. Peixes da Costa brasileira. 3ª ed. São Paulo: Melro. 316p.
Cortés, E. 1997. A critical review of methods of studying fish feeding based on analysis of stomach contents: application to elasmobranch fishes. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 54(3): 726-738. https://doi.org/10.1139/f96-316
Costa-Bomfim, C.N.; Pessoa, W.V.N.; Oliveira, R.L.M.; Farias, J.L.; Domingues, E.C.; Hamilton, S.; Cavalli, R.O. 2014. The effect of feeding frequency on growth performance of juvenile cobia, Rachycentron canadum (Linnaeus, 1766). Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 30(1): 135-139. https://doi.org/10.1111/jai.12339
Coxey, M.S. 2008. Biological Diversity and Community Structure in Vessel Reefs in the Coast of Recife (PE) - Brazil. Faro. 138p. (Dissertação de Mestrado. Universidade do Algarve). Disponível em: <https://sapientia.ualg.pt/handle/10400.1/7115> Acesso em: 18 jul. 2017.
Danilowicz, B.S.; Sale, P.F. 1999. Relative intensity of predation on the french grunt, Haemulon avolineatum, during diurnal, dusk, and nocturnal periods on a coral reef. Marine Biology, 133 (2): 337-343. https://doi.org/10.1007/s002270050472
Darracott, A. 1977. Availability, morphometrics, feeding and breeding activity in a multispecies, demersal fish stock of the western Indian Ocean. Journal of Fish Biology, 10(1): 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8649.1977.tb04036.x
FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2016. FishStatJ: Universal software for fishery statistical time series. Fisheries and Aquaculture Department, Statistic and Information Service.
Felix, F.C.; Hackradt, C.W. 2008. Interaction between Rachycentron canadum and Epinephelus itajara, on the Paraná Coast, Brasil. Coral Reefs, 27(3): 633. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-008-0367-6
Ferry, L.A.; Cailliet, G.M. 1996. Sample size and data analysis: are we characterizing and comparing diet properly? In: Mackinlay, D.; Shearer, K. Feeding ecology and nutrition in fish - Symposium Proceedings. San Francisco: International Congress on the Biology of Fishes. p. 71-80.
Figueiredo, J.L.; Menezes, N.A. 1980. Manual de peixes marinhos do sudeste do Brasil. III Teleostei (2). São Paulo: Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo. 90p.
Franks, J.S.; Garber, N.M.; Warren, J.R. 1996. Stomach contents of juvenile cobia, Rachycentron canadum, from the northern Gulf of Mexico. Fishery Bulletin, 94(2): 374-380.
Franks, J.S.; Ogle, J.T.; Lotz, J.M.; Nicholson, L.C.; Barnes, D.N.; Larsen, K.M. 2001. Spontaneous spawning of cobia, Rachycentron canadum, induced by human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), with comments on fertilization, hatching, and larval development. Proceedings of the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute, 52: 598-609.
Fry, G.C.; Griffiths, S.P. 2010. Population dynamics and stock status of cobia, Rachycentron canadum, caught in Australian recreational and commercial coastal fisheries. Fisheries Management and Ecology, 17(3): 231-239. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2400.2009.00712.x
Gomes, U.L.; Rosa, R.S.; Gadig, O.B.F. 2000. Dasyatis macrophthalma sp.n.: A new species of stingray (Chondrichthyes: Dasyatidae) from the Southwestern Atlantic. Copeia, 2000(2): 510-515. https://doi.org/10.1643/0045-8511(2000)000[0510:DMSNAN]2.0.CO;2
Greenfield, D.W. 1981. Holocentridae. In: Fischer, W.; Bianchi, G.; Scott, W.B. FAO species identification sheets for fishery purposes. Eastern Central Atlantic, fishing areas Vol. 2: 34, 47 (in part). Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada and FAO.
Humann, P.; Deloach, N. 2002. Reef fish identification: Florida, Caribbean, Bahamas. Florida: New World Publication. 481p.
Juanes, F.; Conover, D.O. 1994. Piscivory and prey size selection in young-of-the-year bluefish: predator preference or size-dependent capture success? Marine Ecology Progress Series, 114: 59-69.
Knapp, F.T. 1951. Food habits of the sergeantfish, Rachycentron canadus. Copeia, 1951(1): 101-102.
Liao, I.C.; Leaí±o, E.M. 2007. Cobia aquaculture: research, development and commercial production. Taiwan: Asian Fisheries Society. 179p.
Lopes, P.R.D.; Oliveira-Silva, J.T.; Sena, M.P. 2001. Ocorrência de Rachycentron canadum (Linnaeus, 1766) (Actinopterygii: Rachycentridae) na Baía de Todos os Santos, Estado da Bahia, Brasil. Sitientibus Série Ciências Biológicas, 1(1): 56-59.
Lotz, J.M.; Overstreet, R.M.; Franks, J.S. 1996. Gonadal maturation in the cobia, Rachycentron canadum, from the north-central Gulf of Mexico. Gulf Research Reports, 9(3): 147-159. https://doi.org/10.18785/grr.0903.01
Lucena, F.M.; Vaske Jr, T.; Ellis, J.R.; O'Brien, C.M. 2000. Seasonal variation in the diets of bluefish, Pomatomus saltatrix (Pomatomidae) and striped weakfish, Cynoscion guatucupa (Scianidae) in southern Brazil: implications of food partitioning. Environmental Biology of Fishes, 57(4): 423-434. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007604424423
Meyer, G.H.; Franks, J.S. 1996. Food of cobia Rachycentron canadum from the northcentral Gulf of Mexico. Gulf Research Reports, 9(3): 161-167. https://doi.org/10.18785/grr.0903.02
Milmann, L.; Danilewicz, D.; Machado, R.; Santos, R.A.; Ott, P.H. 2016. Feeding ecology of the common bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus, in southern Brazil: analyzing its prey and the potential overlap with fisheries. Brazilian Journal of Oceanography, 64(4): 415-422. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1679-87592016116406404.
Peregrino Jr, R.B.; Hamilton, S.; Domingues, E.C.; Manzella Jr, J.C.; Hazin, F.H.V.; Cavalli, R.O. 2014. Desempenho reprodutivo do beijupirá (Rachycentron canadum) capturado no litoral de Pernambuco. Arquivo Brasileiro de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, 66(3): 681-687. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1678-41625794
Pinkas, L.; Oliphant, M.S.; Iverson, I.L.K. 1971. Food habits of Albacore, Bluefin tuna and Bonito in California Waters. Fish Bulletin, 152: 1-105.
Randall, J.E. 1967. Food habits of reef fishes of West Indies. Studies in Tropical Oceanography, 5: 665-847.
Rocha, L.A.; Rosa, I.L.; Rosa, R.S. 1998. Peixes recifais da costa da Paraíba, Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Zoologia, 15(2): 553-566.
Rohit, P.; Bhat, U.S. 2012. Fishery and diet composition of the cobia Rachycentron canadum (Linnaeus, 1766) exploited along Karnataka coast. Indian Journal of Fisheries, 59(4): 61-65.
Schoener, T.W. 1968. The anolis lizards of Bimini: resources partitioning in a Complex fauna. Ecology, 49(4): 704-726. https://doi.org/10.2307/1935534
Shaffer, R.V.; Nakamura, E.L. 1989. Synopsis of biological data on the cobia Rachycentron canadum (Pisces: Rachycentridae). FAO Fisheries Synopsis, 153. Washington D.C.: U.S. Department of Commerce, NOAA Technical Report. 25p.
Smith, J.W. 1995. Life history of cobia, Rachycentron canadum (Osteichthyes: Rachycentridae), in North Carolina Waters. Brimleyana, 23: 1-23.
Smith, J.W.; Merriner, J.V. 1982. Association of cobia, Rachycentron canadum, with cownose ray, Rhinoptera bonasus. Estuaries, 5(3): 240-242. https://doi.org/10.2307/1351842
Stagg, C.; Whilden, M. 1997. The history of Chesapeake Bay's blue crab (Callinectes sapidus): fisheries and management. Investigaciones Marinas, 25(1): 93-104. https://doi.org/10.4067/S0717-71781997002500007
Velde, T.D.; Griffiths, S.P.; Fry, G.C. 2010. Reproductive biology of the commercially and recreationally important cobia Rachycentron canadum in northeastern Australia. Fishery Science, 76(1): 33-43. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12562-009-0177-y
Wallace, R.K.; Ramsey, J.S. 1983. Reliability in measuring diet overlap. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 40(3): 347-351. https://doi.org/10.1139/f83-050
Zavala-Camin, L.A. 1996. Introdução aos estudos sobre alimentação natural em peixes. Maringá: EDUEM. 129p.