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- Title
A multiple-methods approach to investigate dietary differences among nominally herbivorous fishes.
- Authors
Lin, Xianzhi; Hu, Simin; Zhou, Yanyan; Huang, Hui; Zhang, Li; Liu, Sheng
- Abstract
Each dietary analysis method has its own strengths and limitations and provides different perspectives for understanding the trophic biology of aquatic organisms. In this study, we used an integrative, multi-tool approach to comprehensively investigate the dietary differences of eight nominally herbivorous fishes from five feeding guilds in the Nansha Islands (N: 8°51′10°57', E: 112°50′115°35') of the South China Sea. The methods used in this study included 18S rDNA metabarcoding, standard gut content analysis, and stable isotope analysis. DNA metabarcoding revealed diverse algae categories (Ochrophyta, Rhodophyta, and Chlorophyta) in the gut contents of sampled fishes with high taxonomic resolution, and some microscopic and cryptic taxa, such as dinoflagellates and microinvertebrates, were precisely identified. The overlap of 95% prediction isotopic niche remained below 30% between different feeding guilds, and nearly 70% of the 107 genera detected in the gut contents were not shared by two or more fish species or feeding guilds. By combining stable isotope analysis and morphological identification with gut content metabarcoding, we found that the dietary overlap detected by metabarcodng between Ctenochaetus striatus and other fishes may be due to interference from debris of algae or other organisms. While each method has its own limitations in dietary analysis, our study suggests that an integrative, multi-tool approach can remedy the limitations of one method by utilizing the strengths of another. Our results indicate that a wide spectrum of resources on coral reefs could be utilized by different fish species in a complementary manner.
- Subjects
STABLE isotope analysis; AQUATIC biology; CORAL reefs &; islands; DINOFLAGELLATES
- Publication
Marine Biology, 2023, Vol 170, Issue 11, p1
- ISSN
0025-3162
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s00227-023-04269-2