• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
• /
• v.35 no.4
• /
• pp.305-312
• /
• 2023

Diet composition and feeding strategy of the largehead hairtail, Trichiurus japonicas were studied using 375 specimens collected by purse seine, set net fisheries and lure fishing from February 2021 to January 2022 in the southern sea of Korea. The anal length (AL) of these specimens was from 3.4~49.0 cm. T. japonicus fed majorly on Fishes (especially Engraulis japonicus) based on ranking index (%RI=99.3). Fishes were the main prey items for all size classes. T. japonicas also showed size-related dietary shift from E. japonicus to T. japonicus, Larimichthys polyactis and Engraulidae. Fishes were the main prey items for all seasons. The main fish prey during spring and summer was E. japonicus, but in the autumn and winter, the E. japonicus portion decreased, and T. japonicus, L. polyactis, and Engraulidae portion increased. T. japonicus were specialized feeders with E. japonicus as their dominant prey.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
• /
• v.35 no.4
• /
• pp.347-353
• /
• 2023

Zenopsis nebulosa were collected by bottom trawl net from 20 areas in the South Sea of Korea during 2021 (February, May, August, November). The range of total length was 10.1~50.2 cm and empty stomach rate was 45.8%. The most important prey of Z. nebulosa was Pisces, with Trichiurus japonicus, Trachurus japonicus and Benthosema pterotum. And the second important prey was Euphausiacea. Z. nebulosa showed dietary shift by size class. In the <20.0 cm size class, Trachurus japonicus was dominant prey item. In the 20.0~25.0 cm size class, Trichiurus japonicus was dominant prey item. In the ≥25.0 cm size class, B. pterotum was dominant prey item. Analysis of the mean weight of preys per stomach (mW/ST) increased with individual size.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• /
• v.49 no.5
• /
• pp.642-647
• /
• 2016

Postlarval and juvenile anchovies Engraulis japonicus were collected using a gape net with wings in the coastal waters of Yeosu in July and August 2015, and their gut contents were analyzed. The size range of the postlarvae was 11.0-24.2 mm (notochord length) and that of the juveniles was 25.1-37.4 mm (standard length). Guts were empty in 64.5% of postlarvae and in 51.7% of juveniles. The dominant prey organisms in the guts of both postlarvae and juveniles were copepoda. Calanoida were important prey organisms for postlarvae and were dominated by nauplii of Paracalanus sp. and Calanus sp. as well as unidentified copepod naupill. Calanoida were also important in the diets of juveniles, whose gut contents were dominated by Paracalanus sp. and Cirripedia. Gut compositions were significantly different (P<0.05) among three body size levels in postlarvae and juveniles. As the body size of the postlarvae and juveniles increased, Calanoida constituted a larger proportion of the gut contents, while the proportion of copepod nauplii decreased.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• /
• v.54 no.1
• /
• pp.64-72
• /
• 2021

The feeding habits of the Japanese jack mackerel Trachurus japonicus were studied in the Southern Sea of the Republic of Korea. To assess the effects of season, sampling was conducted in February (winter), May (spring), and August (summer), 2020. The total length of each fish was measured in 1 cm intervals. Diet composition showed the highest species diversity during winter. Diet composition changed from copepods to euphausiids as the total length of jack mackerel increased, except during winter. The most important seasonal prey were copepods in winter and summer and euphausiids in spring. Species diversity of the zooplankton community structure was highest in winter. Among the zooplankton communities, copepods were dominant in all seasons. Species with a high electivity index in all seasons were relatively large zooplankton of ≥2 mm. Jack mackerel had ontogenetic diet change, exhibited diet selectivity depending on size, and its feeding habits were affected by the zooplankton community structure.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• /
• v.46 no.2
• /
• pp.168-175
• /
• 2013

The feeding habits of the black-edged sculpin Gymnocanthus herzensteini were studied using 944 specimens collected from February 2011 to January 2012 in the coastal waters off Mukho, Gangwondo, Korea. The G. herzensteini ranged from 11.8 to 36.3 cm in total length (TL). The percentage of empty stomachs in G. herzensteini was 40.2%, and the main prey items were Pisces, Euphausiasea, and Macrura. The smallest size group (11.8-15.0 cm TL) consumed mainly Polychaeta and Amphipoda. The quantity of prey increased in proportion to sculpin size. The composition of prey items and feeding habits of G. herzensteini exhibited seasonal fluctuations, that is, the main prey items during spring were Euphausiasea, whereas those during other seasons were Pisces.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.37 no.1 s.106
• /
• pp.130-136
• /
• 2004

In the present study, prey preference of juvenile fishes was examined using an experimental approach. Zooplankton composition, as a prey of the fish, was evaluated by taking into account the species as well as body size of juveniles in the aquarium. The predation of juvenile fishes is known to be an important factor in changes of zooplankton communities. In some previous studies at the regulated Nakdong River, the collapse of large cladcoerans and an increase in the rotifer population by selective predation during spring and summer were observed. This study focused on the predation of juvenile fishes such as Hyporhamphus sajori, Rhinogobius brunneus, and Opsariichtys uncirostris amurensis on zooplankton community structure in mesocosm scale experiments. These fishes selected the cladoceran Moina micrura with highest individual preference value (Manly/Chesson index)among zooplankton prey in the experimental aquarium. When the size-selective prey preferences of the juvenile fish were compared, both small (body size <2 cm) and large (body size >2cm) juveniles of O. uncirostris positively selected M. micrura. In the outdoor experimental tanks, juvenile fishes consumed the cladoceran M. micrura, resulting in an high abundance of the rotifer, Polyarthra spp. The results suggest that juvenile fish predation may play an important role in regulating the zooplankton community structure by reducing the cladoceran density and increase of rotifers in the Nakdong River during spring and summer.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
• /
• v.26 no.4
• /
• pp.349-354
• /
• 2014

The diet composition of bullet mackerel, Auxis rochei was studied using 200 specimens collected from December 2013 to May 2014 in the coastal waters of Iloilo, Philippines. The size of A. rochei ranged from 11.1 to 31.2 cm in fork length (FL). A. rochei was epipelagic feeder that consumed mainly fishes. In addition, A. rochei consumed shrimps, copepods, crab larvae, amphipods and cephalopods. The diet also included small quantities of stomatopods, bivalves, and ostracods. Also, analysis of the prey-specific abundance against the frequency of occurrence shows that A. rochei have a narrow food niche, and are specialized feeder with fish as their dominant prey. Although fishes were the primary in food consumed by all size class. The fishes gradually increased with body size.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
• /
• v.32 no.2
• /
• pp.103-109
• /
• 2020

The diet composition of whitespotted conger, Conger myriaster was studied using 129 specimens collected in the coastal waters Geoje, Korea from June 2018 to May 2019. The size of the specimens ranged from 11.5~22.9 cm in preanus length (AL). C. myriaster was a piscivore that consumes mainly pisces such as Engraulis japonicus and Gobiidae (%IRI: 98.4%). Of the fish species E. japonicus was the most preferred prey. Based on these results, it is considered that Conger myriaster has a characteristic of feeding on abundant prey organisms in the study area. The dietary compositions of C. myriaster was not significantly different among size classes. These results are considered to be due to a lack of specimens and the various size groups were not collected. Based on these results, it is thought that immature fishes inhabit the coast of Geoje. As body size of C. myriaster increased the mean weigh of prey per stomach (mW/ST) tended to increase (one-way ANOVA, P<0.05).

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.54 no.3
• /
• pp.247-256
• /
• 2021

Understanding the selective feeding behavior of zooplankton on phytoplankton is essential for evaluating the nutrient cycle and energy flow in the food web. Although many studies have been conducted regarding the feeding behaviors of zooplankton through gut content analyses, there are limitations in the visual identification of digested contents using a microscope. DNA techniques have been applied to overcome these limitations since they can detect and amplify small amounts of prey DNA remaining in the gut contents. We designed a method to extract prey DNA from the gut contents of the whole body of the copepod specimen and tested the resolution of DNA identification for the prey phytoplankton. The common brackish species, Sinocalanus tenellus, were collected from Saemangeum Reservoir in different sites and seasons, and gut content DNA was extracted using 2.5% bleach treatment for 2 min for removal of potential contamination sources existing in preserved specimens without dissolution of the body. The sequences of the extracted gut contents were confirmed using BLASTn suite based on the NCBI database. The phytoplankton species detected in the gut showed temporal and spatial differences. Although DNA analysis of small copepod gut contents has been suggested as an effective method to examine the dynamics of primary prey sources at the genus or species level, uncertainties such as misidentification and limitations in the detailed information of the composition still exist.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• /
• v.37 no.6
• /
• pp.469-477
• /
• 2004

This study examined distributional patterns of Asterias amurensis in Tongyeong, the central South Sea of Korea. The density of the sea star was estimated at 10 chosen sites in the inner and the outer parts of the Tongyeong coast from December 2000. The mean density of the species in this area was $2.4ind./m^{2}$. The seasonal surveys conducted at 3 arbitrary chosen sites (i.e., sea cage, reef and soft sediment) also showed that the abundance of the species at the sea cage site $(density:\;3.6\;ind./m^{2};\;biomass:\;250.7\;gwwt/m^{2})$ was significantly higher than at the reef site $(density:\;1.7\;ind./m^{2};\;biomass:\;63.5\;gwwt/m^{2})$ and the soft sediment site $(density:\;0.4\;ind./m^{2};\;biomass:\;18.9\;gwwt/m^{2})$. Densities were higher at sea cages areas than at reefs and soft bottom sites. At sea cage site, A. amurensis population exhibited a strong aggregated distributional pattern. In contrast, at reef and soft bottom sites, A. amurensis population showed a random distributional pattern. The spatial difference in prey species and its abundance was the primary factor determining the spatial heterogeneity of the sea star in its behavior characteristics. Experiments on the feeding preference indicated that A. amurensis had a strong selectivity on its prey, but this selectivity varied between populations living in different sites. In particular, A. amurensis populations at the reef site showed a strong selectivity on various sessile and mobile animals living in reef areas, suggesting that these animal groups may play a role as "windows for the survival of A. amurensis". These results suggest that the distribution of A. amurensis in Tongyeong is closely associated with abundance of prey species and the bottom composition.