Alimentación de los alevines de mugílidos en el delta del Ebro

Abstract

Food and feeding habits of five species of Mediterranean mullet fry were studied in the Canal Vell lagoon (Ebro delta, NE Spain). The fry of Liza saliens, Chelon labrosus, Mugil cephalus and Liza ramada, with a total length ranging from 15 to 25 mm, fed mainly on zooplanktonic crustacea, such as cyclopids, calanoids and cladocerans, but adult chironomids were also important in their diet. The fry of L. aurata and the larger specimens of L. ramada (26 < TL < 30 mm) had a mixed diet consisting of zooplankton and microphytobenthos. In the case of L. ramada these size-related differences in their fedding habits suggest the existence of a gradual change in diet as the fish turns from zooplanktophagus to phytobenthophagus.