Natural feeding of juveniles of Lutjanus peru (Nichols and Murphy, 1922) (Lutjanidae: Perciformes) off the coast of Jalisco and Colima, Mexico

Abstract

Natural feeding of juveniles of Lutjanus peru off the coast of Jalisco and Colima, Mexico, is analyzed. A total of 915 organisms were caught; 696 stomachs were examined and 219 were discarded because they were empty. Items in the stomach content were identified to the lowest possible taxonomic level. Numeric percentage, gravimetric percentage, frequency of occurrence and the index of relative importance were calculated for each prey. The diet of the organisms studied comprises mainly fish and stomatopods, of which members of the family Congridae and organisms of Squilla hancocki are the most abundant in the stomach content. Feeding variations occurred during the year and the diet varied with respect to fish length. A significant positive correlation between the length of the crustaceans consumed and fish length was found. Differences between fish length and prey length were further verified with the Kruskal-Wallis test. Distribution of L. peru juveniles was mostly restricted to the 20- and 40-m isobaths. Low values of abundance were found at 60 m. Diet overlap between months is more frequent when prey number is considered.