Diet of Menticirrhus americanus (Linnaeus, 1758) and Cynoscion jamaicensis (Vaillant and Bocourt, 1883) (Pisces, Sciaenidae) in the State of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil

Abstract

The aim of this work was to study the diet of the scienid fishes Menticirrhus americanus and Cynoscion jamaicensis. The degree of association between the diets of the two species was investigated, since both species coexist in the southeastern coast of Brazil. The food preference degree method (GPA) was employed to stomachs with level 3 of repletion. The stomachs of 306 specimens were analyzed, being 233 of M. americanus and 73 of C. jamaicensis. The food items found in the stomachs of M. americanus were crustaceans, fishes, polychaets, and mollusks. Fishes and crustaceans were found in the stomachs of C. jamaicensis. The use of the same food items by the two species can contribute for an indicative of feeding overlap. The food preference of M. americanus for crustaceans and of C. jamaicensis for fishes can minimize this overlap, making possible a coexistence of these scienid in the study area. The obtained result is in accordance with the characteristics regarding mouth position and foraging sites used by both species: M. americanus has sub-terminal mouth and forages on the bottom, whereas in C. jamaicensis, the mouth is terminal, making it possible to forage in the upper of the water column.