The feeding biology of four predatory reef fishes off the south-eastern Cape coast, South Africa

Abstract

The feeding of three sparid reef fish, Cheimerius nufar, Petrvs rupestris, Polysteganus praeorbitalis and one serranid, Epinephelus guaza, is described. Examination of stomach contents revealed that C. nufar takes both demersal and pelagic prey. Although reef fish dominate the diets of small C. nufar, larger individuals take pelagic prey frequently. P. rupestris takes reef prey almost exclusively and is an important top predator on hard substrata in the south-eastern Cape. P. praeorbitalis preys mainly on reef fishes and is found mainly in shallow water in this region. Hunting behaviour for both solitary and grouped prey by these sparids has been recorded from underwater observations in the wild, and in tanks. E. guaza is a solitary ambush predator of small fish, crabs and octopods. All four species show clear ontogenetic changes in diet and overlaps in their resource use are discussed.