EVALUATION OF ECOLOGICAL IMPORTANCE OF MYSIDS AS A FOOD ITEM IN THE DIET OF FISH, NEW ZEALAND

Authors

  • N. N. Punchihewa

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3126/ije.v4i3.13228

Keywords:

Mysids, Fish, Stable isotope study, Gut analysis, C and N isotopes

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to determine the ecological importance of mysids as a food item of selected fish species using C and N isotopes (stable isotopic study) and gut content analysis of fish. Fish samples (Galaxias maculates and Athrinidae sp.) and mysid samples (Tenagomysis chiltoni and T. novaezealandiae) were collected from Kakamatua Stream situated on the west coast of Auckland region in late January 2009 (summer). All the collected samples were oven-dried, and then ground to obtain a homogeneous powder. Three replicates of each sample were prepared. Samples were processed by the Waikato Stable Isotope Unit (Scientific/20). For gut content analysis, ten specimens of each fish species, G. maculates and Athrinidae sp. were collected and were fixed in 5% formalin immediately. These fish specimens were dissected out and the stomach contents were mixed in a beaker with 10 ml water. After mixing, the contents were examined under the light microscope fitted with an eye piece micrometer. It is evident from both methods that two mysid species T. chiltoni and T. novaezealandiae form a substantial component of the diet of commercially important G. maculates, at Kakamatua stream. Changes in the diet, during the ontogenetic development, in relation to body size have shown a significant enrichment of ?15N values and ?13C values of T. chiltoni and G. maculates.

International Journal of Environment

Volume-4, Issue-3, June-August 2015

Page: 35-41

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.
Abstract
826
PDF
689

Author Biography

N. N. Punchihewa

Department of Zoology, The Open University of Sri Lanka, Nawala, Nugegoda

Downloads

Published

2015-08-24

How to Cite

Punchihewa, N. N. (2015). EVALUATION OF ECOLOGICAL IMPORTANCE OF MYSIDS AS A FOOD ITEM IN THE DIET OF FISH, NEW ZEALAND. International Journal of Environment, 4(3), 35–41. https://doi.org/10.3126/ije.v4i3.13228

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 3 (2015)

Section

Research Papers

License

The author(s) acknowledge that the manuscript submitted is his/her/their own original work; all authors participated in the work in a substantive way and are prepared to take public responsibility for the work; all authors have seen and approved the manuscript as submitted;  the manuscript has not been published and is not being submitted or considered for publication elsewhere; the text, illustrations, and any other materials included in the manuscript do not infringe(plagiarism) upon any existing copyright or other rights of anyone.

Notwithstanding the above, the Contributor(s) or, if applicable the Contributor’s Employer, retain(s) all proprietary rights other than copyright, such as Patent rights; to use, free of charge, all parts of this article for the author’s future works in books, lectures, classroom teaching or oral presentations; the right to reproduce the article for their own purposes provided the copies are not offered for sale.

The copyright to the contribution identified is transferred to IJE.