Foraging in non-native environments : comparison of Nile Tilapia and three co-occurring native centrarchids in invaded coastal Mississippi watersheds

We examined the diet of the alien Nile tilapia and bluegill, redear sunfish, and largemouth bass over a two-year period in coastal Mississippi. Nile tilapia diet was visually separated from the three natives based on group-average linkage cluster analysis. Sequential two-way nested analysis of simil...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Environmental biology of fishes Vol. 76; no. 2-4; pp. 283 - 301
Main Authors:	PETERSON, Mark S, SLACK, William T, WAGGY, Gretchen L, FINLEY, Jeremy, WOODLEY, Christa M, PARTYKA, Melissa L
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Dordrecht Springer 01-08-2006 Springer Nature B.V
Subjects:	Agnatha. Pisces Animal and plant ecology Animal, plant and microbial ecology Animals Aquaculture Autoecology Biological and medical sciences Bottom sediments Brackish Cluster analysis Detritus Diet Fish Freshwater Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology Insects Introduced species Lepomis macrochirus Lepomis microlophus Marine Micropterus salmoides Nematoda Oreochromis niloticus Rotifera Vertebrata Vertebrates: general zoology, morphology, phylogeny, systematics, cytogenetics, geographical distribution Mississippi United States North America America ASW, USA, Mississippi USA, Mississippi, Pascagoula R USA, Mississippi, Escatawpa R Introduced species Interaction Cichlidae Trophic relation Tilapia Ecology Trophic ecology Foraging behavior Invasion Alien species Vertebrata Pisces Environment Coastal bayou Interactions Native species Invasions
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Summary:	We examined the diet of the alien Nile tilapia and bluegill, redear sunfish, and largemouth bass over a two-year period in coastal Mississippi. Nile tilapia diet was visually separated from the three natives based on group-average linkage cluster analysis. Sequential two-way nested analysis of similarities indicted there was no season effect (Global R = 0.026, P = 24.3%), but there was a moderate size class effect (Global R = 0.457, P = 0.1%) and a strong species effect (Global R = 0.876, P = 0.1%). Pairwise tests indicated species fed on different components of and locations within the environment, with bluegill, redear sunfish and largemouth bass (all R less than or equal to 0.683, P = 0.1%) having the most similar dietary components and Nile tilapia (all R greater than or equal to 0.953, P = 0.1%) having the most distinct. Multivariate dispersion indicated that largemouth bass (1.425) and bluegill (1.394) had the most diverse diets compared to redear sunfish (0.906) and Nile tilapia (0.918). Similarities of percentages indicated that diets were separated based on prey: bluegill and redear sunfish consumed chironomids and insects; largemouth bass consumed fish and insects; and Nile tilapia fed most often on sediment resources such as nematodes, rotifers, bryozoans and hydrozoans. Nile tilapia had the highest frequency of mud, sand and detritus in their stomachs, suggesting they fed directly on bottom sediments. These data and the fact that Nile tilapia has a 1.3-7.6 times longer intestine on average than its body length, support our contention that this alien species feeds at the base of the food web and is well adapted to survive and proliferate in non-native environments.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 ObjectType-Article-2 ObjectType-Feature-1
ISSN:	0378-1909 1573-5133
DOI:	10.1007/s10641-006-9033-4