Abstract
Three species of surgeonfish Acanthurus coeruleus (blue tang) (Block and Schneider), A. bahianus (ocean surgeonfish) (Castelnau), and A. chirurgus (doctorfish) (Block) were captured in the waters of the Florida Keys (24°03′N, 81°40′W). In total, 39 of these fish were captured between March and December of 1999. Items found in the stomachs of these fish were identified and analyzed for percent occurrence. These values were compared to percent occurrence values of the same items from random bottom transects taken at the point of capture to quantify any forage selectivity or avoidance behavior of these fish. A. bahianus selected for sand and chlorophytes and avoided phaeophytes. A. chirurgus also showed selection for sand and chlorophytes, while 58% of those sampled selected for phaeophytes and 42% avoided them. A. coeruleus avoided sand and selected for rhodophytes and chlorophytes. Phaeophytes were also selected for in 80% of A. coeruleus sampled. Understanding food preferences of free-ranging Florida surgeonfish may provide insight to improve nutritional management of captive herbivorous reef fish.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Adey, H. and Loveland, L. (1991) Dynamic Aquaria. Building Living Ecosystems. San Diego: Academic Press, 643 pp.
Carpenter, R.C. (1986) Partitioning herbivory and its effects on coral reef algal communities. Ecological Monographs 56, 343–363.
Craig, P. (1996) Intertidal territoriality; time budget of the surgeonfish, Acanthurus lineatus, in American Samoa. Environmental Biology of Fishes 46, 27–36.
Fabregas, J. and Herrero, C. (1986) Marine microalgae as a potential source of minerals in fish diets. Aquaculture 51, 237–243.
Meyer, K.D. and Paul, V.J. (1992) Intraplant variation in secondary metabolite concentration in three species of Caulerpa (Chlorophyta: Caulerpales) and its effects on herbivorous fishes. Marine Ecology Progress Series 82, 249–257.
Montgomery, W.L. (1980) The impact of nonselective grazing by the giant blue damselfish, Microspathodon dorsalis, on algal communities on the Gulf of California, Mexico. Bulletin of Marine Science 30, 290–303.
Montgomery, W.L. and Gerking, S.D. (1980) Marine macroalgae as foods for fishes: an evaluation of potential food quality. Environmental Biology of Fishes 5, 143–153.
Montgomery, W.L., Myrberg, A.A. and Fishelson, L. (1989) Feeding ecology of surgeonfishes (Acanthuridae) in the northern Red Sea, with particular reference to Acanthurus nigrofuscus (Forsskål). Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 132, 179–207.
Nakagawa, H., Kasahara, S. and Sugiyama, T. (1987) Effect of Ulva meal supplementation on lipid metabolism of black sea bream, Acanthopagrus schlegeli (Bleeker). Aquaculture 62, 109–121.
Phillips, D.W. and Towers, G.H.N. (1982) Bromphenols of Rhodomela larix: chemotaxonomy of morphological forms. Biochemical Systems and Ecology 9(1), 1–4.
Randall, J.E. (1967) Food habits of reef fishes of the West Indies. Studies in Tropical Oceanography 5, 665–847.
Roberts, C.M. (1987) Experimental analysis of resource sharing between herbivorous damselfish and blennies on the Great Barrier Reef. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology 11, 61–75.
Strauss, R.E. (1979) Reliability estimates for Ivlev's electivity index, the forage ratio, and a proposed linear index of food selection. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 108, 344–352.
Thresher, R. (1980) Behavior and Ecology on the Reef and in the Aquariums. St. Petersburg, FL: Palmetto Publishing, 171 pp.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Tilghman, G.C., Klinger-Bowen, R. & Francis-Floyd, R. Feeding Electivity Indices in Surgeonfish (Acanthuridae) of The Florida Keys. Aquarium Sciences and Conservation 3, 215–223 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011338716923
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011338716923