Trophic breadth and dietary overlap for seven fish species caught from Shatt Al–Arab River, Southern Iraq

Majid M. Taher; Adel Y. Al-Dubakel; Jennan N. Abdullah

Volume : IX, Issue : V, May - 2019

Trophic breadth and dietary overlap for seven fish species caught from Shatt Al–Arab River, Southern Iraq

Majid M. Taher, Adel Y. Al Dubakel, Jennan N. Abdullah

Abstract :

A total of 290 fishes of seven species were caught since July 2010 to March 2011, using coastal seine net from Shatt Al–Arab River at Hamdan and Dair districts. The importance of food items in the diet of seven species assessed by index of relative importance. Most fishes depend upon two main food items where the all fishes eat 15 food items of which six were animal items, another six of plant origin and three organic and non–organic detritus. Six species considered as herbivores where plant ratios in their diets were 100, 96.9, 95.8, 85.2, 75.4, and 73.1% for Poecilial latipinna, Acanthoama marmid, Carassius auratus, Tenualosa ilisha, Planiliza subviridis and Anodontostoma chacunda respectively. One species (Planiliza abu) were consider as detrivores where ratio of detritus was 62.6%.The Morisita indexes of feeding overlap showed significant overlap between studied species except P. abu. Results appeared that A. marmid and T. ilisha were high specialized feeders, P. abu, A. chacunda, C. auratus and P. latipinna were low specialized feeders and P. subviridis was generalized feeder.