Food resources of shrimp-eating cichlid fishes in Lake Tanganyika |
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Authors: | Masahide Yuma Tetsuya Narita Michio Hori Takaki Kondo |
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Institution: | (1) Center for Ecological Research, Kyoto University, Otsu, 520–01, Japan;(2) Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 606-01, Japan;(3) Division of Natural Science, Osaka Kyoiku University, Kashiwara, 582, Japan |
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Abstract: | Species, size composition, and diurnal variation in abundance of shrimp (Atyidae) were examined and compared with food habits of 14 species of shrimp-eating cichlids in Lake Tanganyika. In the daytime when the cichlids foraged actively, only one species of shrimp, Limnocaridina latipes, was present on rock surfaces. Eleven of the 14 species of shrimp-eaters examined preyed mainly on L. latipes; the shrimp-eaters foraging only on rock surfaces preyed exclusively on L. latipes, whereas shrimp-eaters also taking foods from the interstices between or under stones and debris preyed on various species of shrimp. Although three kinds of shrimp-eaters, each with a unique prey catching technique and preferred shrimp size, were recognized, all shrimp-eaters preyed on shrimp of greatly overlapping sizes. This fact confirms that partitioning of food resources takes place via different capturing techniques. Moreover, the utilization of the same food resource in a different manner may promote group foraging in some shrimp-eaters, because the shrimp is a suitable animal to hunt in groups and is a quickly renewable food of potential abundance. |
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Keywords: | prey species prey size diurnal variation of prey abundance Atyidae |
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