Diet of the finescale triggerfish, Balistes polylepis (Steindachner), in the Gulf of California
Tatiana A. Acosta-Pachón
A , Juan Manuel López-Vivas A , Alejandra Mazariegos-Villarreal B , Karla León-Cisneros A , Marco A. Medina-López A , Emelio Barjau González A and Elisa Serviere-Zaragoza B *
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Departamento Académico de Ciencias Marinas y Costeras, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur (UABCS), Carretera al Sur km 5.5, La Paz, Baja California Sur 23080, México.
B Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste (CIBNOR), Calle IPN 195, La Paz, Baja California Sur 23096, México.
Marine and Freshwater Research 74(8) 712-724 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF22266
Submitted: 13 November 2022 Accepted: 17 April 2023 Published: 15 May 2023
© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing
Abstract
Context: Establishing the roles that different species play within ecosystems is key to understanding how ecosystems function and determining the feeding relationships among species.
Aims: This study analysed the stomach contents of finescale triggerfish, Balistes polylepis, at two sites in the southern Gulf of California, in order to describe its diet.
Methods: The prey-specific index of relative importance (%PSIRIi) was determined, diet width was calculated with Levins’ index and the Costello method, and the trophic position was estimated using the R package dietr.
Key results: B. polylepis is an omnivorous species with a preference for animal material (TL = 3.1) that feeds on a wide range of prey. It is categorised as a generalist predator (Levins’ index, Bi = 0.99). The most important items in the diet were the colonial ascidian Lissoclinum fragile (%PSIRIi = 13.52) at Las Ánimas, and the Xanthidae family (%PSIRIi = 13.24) at San Juan de la Costa.
Implications: B. polylepis plays an important role. Because it can exploit a broad variety of resources, it participates in trophic interactions with several other species. It is essential to determine the trophic habits of this species in other areas of its distribution.
Keywords: Balistes, diet, Gulf of California, Mexico, omnivore, stomach content, Tetraodontiformes, trophic categories.
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