scholarly journals Biometric properties and diet of common pandora, Pagellus erythrinus (Osteichthyes: Sparidae), from the eastern Adriatic sea

2011 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 217-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Santic ◽  
Biljana Radja ◽  
Antonela Paladin ◽  
Andreja Kovacevic

Biometric properties and diet composition were examined in 120 specimens of the common pandora caught in the eastern Adriatic Sea. Biometric analysis of the morphometric and meristic characteristics indicate a homogenous morphology stock of P. erythrinus in the eastern Adriatic Sea. Changes in some of the morphometric characteristics obtained in conjunction with an increase in body length showed that smaller specimens have a longer dorsal fin, standard length, eye diameter and postorbital distances than larger specimens. The meristic characteristics of the common pandora from Italian waters and the Black Sea are mostly in agreement with data in our study. The prey species identified in the stomachs belong to five groups: Decapoda, Bivalvia, Polychaeta, Teleostei and Euphausiacea. Decapods were the most important ingested prey group while bivalves were second in importance. Various prey groups and species found in the stomach indicate that the common pandora could be an opportunistic predator.

2014 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamara N. Leitch ◽  
Peter Dann ◽  
John P. Y. Arnould

The endemic Pacific gull (Larus pacificus) is Australia’s largest larid, and though little is currently known of its foraging ecology, its size and wide distribution suggest that it may play an important role within the marine environment. In the present study, regurgitate pellets collected from Seal Island in northern Bass Strait were used to compare intra- and interannual trends in diet composition. The main taxa identified in pellets were the common diving-petrel (Pelecanoides urinatrix), leatherjacket species (Family Monacanthidae), short-tailed shearwater (Puffinus tenuirostris) and mirror bush (Coprosma repens). Analysis of similarity (ANOSIM) identified no significant differences in numerical abundance of the dominant prey species between years, suggesting that the prey base in this region is temporally consistent or that the gulls consume low enough numbers to be unaffected by fluctuation in prey populations. Diving-petrels were consumed in consistently high numbers, suggesting the gulls may be an important predator of this species, or that the gulls are particularly skilled at foraging for them.


2021 ◽  
pp. 175815592110365
Author(s):  
Filip Tulis ◽  
Nadja Poljak ◽  
Milan Ruzic ◽  
Ján Obuch

Owl diets undergo qualitative changes across the different regions of their area of distribution. During the four winters (from 2014–15 to 2017–18), Long-eared Owls’ pellets were collected at three winterroosts located at the southern part of Pannonian Plain, in the Serbian province of Vojvodina. In 8070 prey items from pellets, we identified 16 mammal and 32 bird species. The Common Vole was the dominant prey species with a proportion in a range from 27.4% to 71.6%. The Muridae family formed a supplementary part of the diet: Mus sp., wood mouse and harvest mouse, during all winters. Birds were also a major supplementary prey during winter 2014–15, comprising 10.6%. A comparison of our results with the diet of Long-eared Owls wintering at the northern Pannonian plain (southwestern Slovakia) indicated an increase the proportion of some species in the southern part. How different land uses in agriculture and environmental conditions may be reflected in the food supply are discussed in relation to the diet composition of Long-eared Owls and an environment whose is richer provides both growing diversity in the diet of these owls and an expansion of their food niche. Our study described the Long-eared Owl as opportunistic predators expanding their food niche in the presence of diversified prey.


Zootaxa ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 2985 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
DANIJELA ŠUNDIĆ ◽  
BRANKO M. RADUJKOVIĆ ◽  
JASMINA KRPO–ĆETKOVIĆ

The aquatic oligochaete fauna of Montenegro was recently studied in order to improve the knowledge of this group in the Balkan region. This study was carried out on sediments collected from 70 sampling sites (the Black Sea and the Adriatic Sea drainage basins) during three years (2005–2008). Forty-one species were identified, from seven following families: Naididae, Enchytraeidae, Haplotaxidae, Lumbriculidae, Lumbricidae, Criodrilidae and Branchiobdellidae (exclusive of Naidinae and Pristininae). Sixteen of them represent first record for the Montenegrin oligochaete fauna: Embolocephalus velutinus, Ilyodrilus templetoni, Psammoryctides deserticola, Spirosperma ferox, Tubifex ignotus, Bathydrilus adriaticus, Bothrioneurum vejdovskyanum, Rhyacodrilus coccineus, Cernosvitoviella atrata, Enchytraeus buchholzi, Mesenchytraeus armatus, Haplotaxis gordioides, Rhynchelmis limosella, Stylodrilus heringianus, Tatriella slovenica and Trichodrilus strandi. The list of species from the subfamilies Naidinae and Pristininae was published previously (Šundić et al. 2011), and it comprises 36 species. Altogether, the present study and literature data show that Montenegrin aquatic oligochaete fauna consists of 77 species. Concerning similarity, values of Jaccard’s index are the highest between Montenegrin and Serbian oligochaete fauna (57 %), and the lowest between Montenegrin and Albanian oligochaete fauna (27.77 %). Species richness estimators (Mao Tau, Uniques Mean, Chao 1, Chao 2, Jack 1, Jack 2, Bootstrap, ACE and ICE) indicate that findings of new oligochaete species in Montenegro are expected.


Zootaxa ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4526 (3) ◽  
pp. 373
Author(s):  
MAKOTO OKAMOTO ◽  
HIROYUKI MOTOMURA

A new species of ptereleotrine dartfish, Navigobius asayake, is described based on four specimens (45.0–52.1 mm in standard length: SL) collected from off the Satsuma Peninsula and Tanegashima island, Kagoshima, southern Japan. It is distinguished from other congeners by the following combination of characters: second dorsal-fin rays I, 18–19; anal-fin rays I, 19; pectoral-fin rays 21–22; gill rakers 5–6 + 13–15; head length 25.1–26.4% SL; eye diameter 8.6–10.0% SL; pelvic-fin length 15.2–16.1% SL; and a well-developed yellow stripe extending from behind upper part of eye to beneath first dorsal fin. 


1996 ◽  
Vol 74 (6) ◽  
pp. 1110-1121 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. J. Tollit ◽  
P. M. Thompson

Predictions concerning the effect of seals upon prey stocks require an understanding of temporal variations in diet composition. This study examined the extent of between-year and seasonal variations in the diet of harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) from the Moray Firth, Scotland, between 1989 and 1992. Analyses of fish otoliths and cephalopod beaks collected from 1129 faecal samples were used to derive estimates of the contribution made by each of 35 prey species, based on the number and mass consumed. The key prey, by mass, were sand eels (Ammodytidae) (47%), lesser octopus (Eledone cirrhosa) (27%), whiting (Merlangius merlangus) (6%), flounder (Platichthys flesus) (5%), and cod (Gadus morhua) (4%). Between-year and seasonal fluctuations in the contributions of these species were observed. Sand eels contributed 86–20% in summer and 91–49% in winter. Lesser octopus contributed 0–62% in summer and < 5% in winter, whilst whiting and cod contributed 2–34% in winter and 1–4% in summer. In contrast to 1988, clupeids were unimportant in winter. Differences in diet composition appeared to reflect local changes in the availability of food, especially overwintering clupeids. Results indicate that dietary information obtained from short-term studies can be a poor indicator of subsequent diet composition and should be treated with caution when used to predict the effect of seals on prey populations.


2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-52
Author(s):  
María de las Mercedes Azpelicueta ◽  
Heraldo A. Britski

We describe a new species of pimelodid catfish of the genus Iheringichthys from the upper Paraná basin, Brazil. Iheringichthys syi n. sp. is distinguished by the comparatively fine serration along the anterior margin of the pectoral-fin spine, an adpressed dorsal-fin remote from the adipose-fin origin, a large eye (23.2-31.2% of head length), narrow interorbital (16.2-23.0% of head length), long snout (42.0-51.0% of head length), long postorbital length (30.6-34.0% of head length), low adipose fin (4.8-7.8% of standard length), eye diameter 97.0-140.0% of interorbital length, and body with numerous, small dots irregularly scattered on flanks, especially marked on anterior half of flank.


Check List ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 1646 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Tiralongo ◽  
R. Baldacconi

Microlipophrys adriaticus (Steindachner & Kolombatovic, 1883) is an endemic blenny of the Mediterranean Sea. It is also known from the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea. However, unlike other species of combtooth blennies, M. adriaticus is a fish with a limited distribution in Adriatic Sea, especially in the north, where it can be common. We report here the first record of this species from the waters of the Ionian Sea.


2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-179
Author(s):  
Nuno Onofre ◽  
Luís Sampaio

The diet of Short-toed Snake-eagle (Circaetus gallicus) during the breeding season in an area dominated by cork and holm oak parkland forests (Montados) was analyzed in this study. As expected, results showed that snakes are the dominant prey in the diet of this eagle, comprising up to 92.5% of the identified items, if potential secondary prey species were excluded. The Montpellier Snake (Malpolon monspessulanus) was the most consumed one (42.2%), followed by the Ladder Snake (Zamenis scalaris) (28.0%), and the water snakes (Natrix spp.) (14.2%). According to the same criteria, lizards (mainly Psammodromus algirus) and mammals represent between 4.8 and 2.2%, respectively. Other animals such as pond turtle and amphibians are irregular prey (<1%), and no bird remains were found at all. Short-toed Snake-eagle is usually referred as a stenophagic predator where snakes are by far its most important prey type, and where within this taxonomic group it behaves as a generalist predator. In this study this premise was then tested comparing the relative abundance of the snake species with their proportion in the diet composition of the eagle in order to know whether or not prey selection exists with regard to the species of snakes in this region. Results point to a quite plausible "preference" for the Ladder Snake and an "avoidance" for the smooth snakes group (Macroprotodon brevis/Coronella girondica), and possibly for the Horseshoe Whip (Hemorrhois hippocrepis). The avoidance to the Horseshoe Whip must be indirect and habitat related, while in relation to the two smooth snakes it may be due in large extend to its small size, in particular.


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-144
Author(s):  
Filip Tulis ◽  
Tomáš Veselovský ◽  
Simon Birrer

Abstract In winter 2013/2014 a roost of long-eared owls in Bojnice Spa (central Slovakia) was formed by two subgroups situated 12 meters apart from each other. The diets of both subgroups and the direction of the owls’ departure from the roost were studied at monthly intervals. Owls of the Pinus-subgroup left the roost in a significantly different direction compared with the owls in the Picea-subgroup. The common vole was the most hunted prey in both subgroups. However, comparing the alternative prey of the two subgroups, the wood mouse and other mammals were found significantly more often in pellets of the Picea-sub-group, whereas birds were more frequent in pellets of the Pinus-subgroup. Our results suggest that the different prey hunted by the two subgroups may be a consequence of diverging hunting areas with different availability of alternative prey species.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ed Drewitt

Are you curious about the remains of an animal you have found? This compilation of the most likely found body parts of animals eaten by raptors will help you identify your discovery. Including over 100 species of bird and mammal prey of raptors such as sparrowhawks, peregrines and hen harriers, this photographic guide highlights the common feathers, fur and other body parts found at raptor nests, roosts, plucking posts and other opportunistic spots. Discovering what raptors eat is an important part of confirming their feeding ecology and how this might change over time, vary on a local level or in response to changing prey populations, as well as dispelling myths and assumptions about what certain raptor species eat. Diet studies are vital for the conservation of raptor species; the more we know about what they need for survival the more we can predict and plan long-term for the protection and survival of raptors that may be vulnerable and in decline. This is the first book to show in detail the actual parts of a bird, mammal or other animal that you are likely to find in a garden, woodland or beneath a raptor roost. As more people take an interest in raptors and watch species such as peregrines via webcams and through watch groups, there is greater opportunity for finding prey remains. This book provides the first and most important step in identifying a prey species.


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