ECOLOGY

Contribution to the feeding ecology of the banded

puffer fish Colomesus psittacus (Tetraodontidae) in
north Brazilian mangrove creeks
Krumme, U.a*, Keuthen, H.b, Saint-Paul, U.a and Villwock, W.b
a
Center for Tropical Marine Ecology, ZMT, Fahrenheitstr. 6, 28359 Bremen, Germany
Zoological Institute and Zoological Museum, University of Hamburg,
b

Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3, 20146 Hamburg, Germany

*e-mail: [email protected]
Received April 11, 2005 – Accepted July 22, 2006 – Distributed August 31, 2007
(With 4 figures)

Abstract
Stomach contents were examined from 102 banded puffer, Colomesus psittacus (Tetraodontidae), caught from inter-
tidal mangrove creeks at diurnal neap tides between June and September, 1997 (early dry season) near Bragança (north
Brazil). The study found that C. psittacus were specialized predators of Cirripedia (Balanus spp.) and Brachyuran
crabs (Uca spp., Pachygrapsus gracilis) (mean: 58 and 38% by dry weight, respectively), emphasizing a short food
chain in the mangrove system. Cirripedia and Brachyura dominated the diet in all size classes, however, the prey
spectrum narrowed with fish size. The mean daily consumption of Cirripedia and Brachyura was 6.2% body weight
of C. psittacus. On average C. psittacus consumed 100.3 g.ha-1.d-1 of Cirripedia and 178.7 g.ha-1.d-1 of Brachyura (wet
weight). The predation on Brachyuran crabs – a significant driver of fluxes of organic matter and energy in the system
– provides C. psittacus with an important ecological function in the mangrove food web. A plant-animal interaction is
proposed where C. psittacus exerts a mutually beneficial cleaning function on the Aufwuchs (Cirripedia and associated
epibiota) of Rhizophora mangle stilt roots. Our results and those of other studies suggest that C. psittacus encounter
optimum foraging conditions in the mangrove at high inundations at daylight (spring tide-day) whereas darkness and
low inundations are linked to poor foraging conditions (neap tide-night). The C. psittacus resource could be used
as an alternative income in the region in terms of i) sustainable catch and filet processing for exports to East Asia,
ii) developing certified aquaculture methods for breeding puffers for the aquarium trade.
Keywords: Brachyura, Cirripedia, fish diets, ontogeny, plant-animal interaction.

Contribuição à ecologia alimentar do baiacu Colomesus psittacus (Tetraodontidae)

em canais de maré com vegetação de mangue no norte do Brasil

Resumo
Conteúdos estomacais de 102 baiacus Colomesus psittacus (Tetraodontidae) foram examinados. A amostragem foi rea-
lizada em canais de maré com vegetação de mangue, durante as marés de quadratura de dia, entre junho e setembro de
1997 (no início do período seco), nas proximidades de Bragança (norte do Brasil). O estudo constatou que C. psittacus era
um predador especializado em Cirripedia (Balanus spp.) e Brachyura (Uca spp., Pachygrapsus gracilis), com médias de
58 e 38% em peso seco, respectivamente, caracterizando uma curta cadeia alimentar no sistema de manguezal. Cirripedia
e Brachyura dominaram a dieta em todos os tamanhos, entretanto, o espectro alimentar diminuiu de acordo com o ta-
manho do peixe. O consumo diário médio de Cirripedia e Brachyura foi de 6,2% em peso corporal de C. ­psittacus. C.
psittacus consumiu uma média de 100,3 g.ha-1.d-1 de Cirripedia e 178,7 g.ha-1.d-1 de Brachyura (peso úmido). A intensa
predação de Brachyura por C. psittacus enfatiza a importante função ecológica desta espécie na cadeia alimentar do
manguezal, contribuindo significativamente no fluxo de matéria orgânica. Uma interação planta-animal é indicada no
fato que C. psittacus exerce uma função limpadora mutuamente beneficiável ao se alimentar do Aufwuchs (Cirripedia e
epibiota asociada) que cresce nas raízes aéreas de Rhizophora mangle. Nossos resultados e os de outros estudos sugerem
que C. ­psittacus encontra no manguezal as melhores condições para se alimentar no período diurno durante as maiores
inundações (marés de sizigia - de dia), enquanto que períodos noturnos e de pequenas inundações determinam as piores
condições para forragear (maré de quadratura - de noite). C. psittacus poderia ser usado como alternativa de renda na
região com respeito a: i) pesca sustentável e processamento de filés para exportação ao leste da Ásia, ii) desenvolvimento
de métodos de aqüicultura certificada para a criação de baiacu para o comércio de peixes ornamentais.
Palavras-chave: Brachyura, Cirripedia, dieta de peixes, ontogenia, interação planta-animal.

Braz. J. Biol., 67(3): 383-392, 2007 383

 Krumme, U. et al.

1. Introduction 2. Materials and Methods

In the western Pacific, tetraodontids are commer-
2.1. Study area
cially valuable and highly regarded as fish food, even
though the presence of the family-specific tetraodoxin The study area is located in the Caeté River estuary
still causes the death of gastronomers each year (Fiedler, near Bragança, about 200 km south-east of the Amazon
1991). Furthermore, there is an increasing demand for delta. It is part of the second largest mangrove area of the
tetraodontids in the aquarium trade. Although tetraodon- world, covering about 7,000 km2 on the north-east coast
tids are used commercially, basic ecological knowledge of South America (Kjerfve and Lacerda, 1993). Vast
forests of Rhizophora mangle and Avicennia germinans
of natural populations is usually scarce.
dominate the coastal vegetation in the region.
In tropical and subtropical mangroves, tetraodontids
The sample sites were three intertidal 1st order man-
are often amongst the most common fish species sampled
grove creeks in the muddy upper reaches of the Furo do
(Bell et al., 1984; Hindell and Jenkins, 2004). The band-
Meio, located in the central part of the peninsula border-
ed puffer Colomesus psittacus (Bloch and Schneider,
ing the western side of the Caeté bay (see Figure 1 in
1801) is distributed along the coast from east Venezuela
Barletta-Bergan et al., 2002). Approximately 110 km2 of
to north Brazil but also occurs in freshwater, e.g. sev-
the peninsula are covered by mangrove. In the Caeté es-
eral 100 km upstream in the Amazon and its tributary
tuary, intertidal 1st order creeks (about 25 m width at the
river systems (Barthem, 1985; Cervigon et al., 1992). In mouth) that are further ramified upstream, drain the man-
freshwater, C. psittacus is carnivorous, feeding mainly grove area into a large subtidal main channel (“Furo”,
on mollusks (Keith et al., 2000) but little is known about 50 m width and larger) that are connected to the Caeté
marine environments. bay. According to Barletta-Bergan (1999), creeks 1, 2
In mangroves along the north Brazilian coast and 3 had 6,481, 9,351 and 1,865 m2 of inundated areas
C. psittacus is one of the dominant fish species of tidal at neap tide high water (HW), respectively. The vegeta-
channels year-round (Castro, 2001; Barletta et al., 2003; tion of the studied creeks is dominated by R. mangle and
Krumme, 2004; Krumme et al., 2004). The intestines of A. germinans and can therefore be considered represent-
tidally migrating C. psittacus were empty at flood tide ative for a large part of the mangrove area.
and well-filled at ebb tide when the fish returned from The semidiurnal macrotide has a tidal range of 2-3 m
the intertidal zone (Krumme, 2004). C. psittacus is usu- at neap and 3-4 m at spring tides. The tide is asymmetric;
ally the only tretraodontid species in these mangroves. the flood and ebb tides last 4 and 8 hours, respectively.
Juvenile Spheroides testudineus occur as accidental visi- In the last 4 hours, the ebb tide is extremely weak with
tors. an almost negligible fall in the water level. The annual
The toxicity of pufferfish is well-known among average rainfall is about 2,500 mm, with a significant dry
fishermen and only very few seem to have really season between August and November when estuarine
ever eaten puffer filet (pers. comm. with fishermen). salinities can exceed 35 psu. The air and water tempera-
Therefore, C. psittacus is usually discarded from the tures are high year-round, ranging from 25 to 33 °C and
semi-commercial tapagem and curral catches (Barletta 27 to 30 °C, respectively. The secchi depth is usually low
et al., 1998) and is of no commercial importance and (on average 30 cm).
not marketed.
2.2. Sampling method
Puffers have three defense mechanisms against
predators: being poisonous, inflation (with water or air) C. psittacus were caught for stomach analysis during
and aposematism (dorsal transverse black bars as warn- diurnal neap ebb tides of the last quarter moon. Samples
ing coloration; Krebs and Davies, 1993). Puffers have a were taken monthly between June and September 1997
(early dry season) as part of the one-year study of
beak-like, terminal mouth with a bony plate in both jaws
Barletta et al. (2003) and Barletta-Bergan et al. (2002).
that can crush hard-shelled organisms. In mangroves,
The three creeks were sampled on consecutive days.
these adaptations enable them to prey on the ubiquitous
Each day at slack HW, a creek mouth was blocked with
fiddler crabs, which are unapproachable by many other
a net (50 x 5 m, 1 cm stretched mesh size). Fish were
fish species. Given the important functional role that
collected during the ebb tide until the creek was totally
these crabs have, puffers may have a significant impact
drained (ca. six hours after HW). In the field, specimens
on the ecological functioning of the system.
were directly fixed in 15% borax-buffered formalin in
So far, detailed quantitative assessment of the food
sea water. Salinity increased from 22 to 24.7, 28.7 and
habits of C. psittacus, including the effect of ontogeny, 31.5 psu between June and September, respectively.
is lacking and its ecological role in the mangroves is
still unknown. Trophic modeling relies on a predator- 2.3. Morphometrics
prey matrix and the consumption per unit of biomass The total length (TL), standard length (SL) (both to
(e.g. Wolff et al., 2000). Therefore, the objectives of this the lowest 0.5 cm), total wet weight and wet weight with-
study were to describe the diet of mangrove-dwelling out stomachs were taken (Sartorius LC 4200 S ± 0.01 g).
C. psittacus quantitatively and determine ontogenetic The length-weight relationship (W = a x Lb) of
patterns in their diet. C. psittacus was determined, using n = 122, 417 and 260

384 Braz. J. Biol., 67(3): 383-392, 2007

 Feeding ecology of Colomesus psittacus

N 38 36 19 9
Dry weight
100 a

80 Others
Bivalvia
60 Teleostei
Brachyura
40 Cirripedia

20
Percent composition

0
Abundance
100 b

80 Others
Teleostei
60 Insecta
Bivalvia
Polychaeta
40
Brachyura
Cirripedia
20

0
<7 7-10 10-14 r14
Standart length (cm)

Figure 1. Ontogenetic changes in diet composition of C. psittacus from intertidal mangrove creeks (north Brazil) caught at
diurnal neap tides in the early dry season of 1997. Histogram for each size class shows relative proportions of a) percent dry
weight and; b) percent abundance of the food items. Number collected per size class (N) is given on top.

specimens from the present study, from Krumme et al. testine fullness was assigned to five categories, adapted
(2004) and of samples taken in the Furo do Meio in the from Pillay (1953): empty; filled to 25%; filled > 25-50%;
dry season 2002, respectively. The parameters a [W in filled >50-75%; filled >75-100% full. Alternatively, the
gram; L in cm TL (Xiao, 1998)] and b, and the condi- intestine fullness index (IFI) following Hureau (1970)
tion factor c.f. [c.f. = (( ∑(W x 100) x (L-3)) x n-1)] were was calculated as IFI = ((intestine content weight x 100)
calculated (Cinco, 1982). x total fish weight-1). The fish were assigned to four size
The length of the uncoiled digestive tract (DT) was classes: <7 cm; 7-<10 cm; 10-<14 cm; ≥14 cm SL.
measured from the pylorus to the anus (±0.5 cm). The A three-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) type
relative length of the DT (RLDT) was calculated (DT II was calculated to ascertain whether IFI differed by
length x TL-1). The feeding habit was classified accord- month, size class and creek (Sokal and Rohlf, 1995). The
ing to Odum (1970) who suggested a relative GIT length creek was the unplanned factor. The IFI raw data were
of <1, 1-3 and >3 for carnivorous, omnivorous and her- log10 (x + 1)-transformed to fulfil the ANOVA assump-
bivorous fish, respectively. tions. To avoid an incomplete design, the two largest size
classes and the months June/July and August/September
2.4. Stomach fullness
were pooled.
All but three stomachs were empty. ‘Puffers have
an inflatable abdominal sac, a ventral diverticulum con- 2.5. Stomach content analysis
tinuous with the stomach’ (Targett, 1978). C. psittacus Intestine contents were washed in distilled water
inflated when captured and could thus have drawn extra- to substitute formol before the contents were observed
neous material into the stomach (Targett, 1978). ‘Puffer under a ZEISS-STEMI SV-11 stereo magnifying glass
stomachs have poorly developed digestive glands with or microscope and separated into prey categories (e.g.
most digestion taking place in the intestine’ (Breder and Cirripedia, Brachyura) while prey items were identi-
Clark, 1947). Therefore, only the intestinal contents were fied as precisely as possible according to the literature
analyzed. The intestines were transferred to 8% buffered (Kaestner, 1963; Chace and Hobbs 1969; Riedl, 1970;
formalin, washed, drained on absorbent paper and wet- Abbott, 1974; Rodriguez, 1980; Laguna, 1985; Cervigon
weighed (±0.01 g). The weight of the contents of the in- et al., 1992; D’Incao, 1995; Hayward and Ryland, 1995).
testines (C) was calculated as C = R – E; where R is the Most prey items, unless very small, are broken once they
weight of the removed intestines (g); E is the weight of reach the intestine. Therefore, unique body parts of the
the empty intestine (g). Intestines were opened and in- prey items were identified and counted, e.g. entire bod-

Braz. J. Biol., 67(3): 383-392, 2007 385

 Krumme, U. et al.

ies of barnacles, crab eyes or bivalve shells with hinge 2.8. Index of predation impact
teeth. The items of each category were counted and An index of predation impact was measured as the
transferred to 4% formalin. After freeze-drying, the dry weight of the prey (Cirripedia or Brachyura) eaten by C.
weight of the categories was taken (Sartorius Analytica psittacus per hectare and day. The index was calculated
200a, ± 0.0001 g). according to Brewer et al. (1991) and Salini et al. (1998)
2.6. Standardization of content weights as the product of predator biomass per tide (g.ha-1), the
mean proportion of prey in the diet per tide and a fac-
The effect of fish size within the different size class-
tor 2 to account for the semidiurnal tide. We used the
es was accounted for by standardizing intestine content sum of the submerged surface area of the three creeks
weights to the geometrical mean weight of all investigat- that Barletta-Bergan (1999) estimated for a common
ed fish of a single size class according to Brenner et al. neap tide inundation (17688 m2) to calculate the surface
(2001). A linear regression between the fish weight (FW) relationship in the predator biomass. Neap tide inunda-
and weight of the empty intestine (E) was established: tions are restricted to the network of creeks and there-
fore, surface area measurements taken once at slack neap
E = a + b x WF (1)
high tide can be used as a coarse approximation for the
Subsequently, number (NP j, i) and weight (WP j, i) general neap tide inundation area, despite variability in
of each prey item j found in the intestine of a fish i of the submerged area between tides (Krumme et al., 2004).
weight WFi was standardized (SF). Standardization used We do not provide a conventional evacuation measure.
the geometrical mean weight (GM) for the size class Krumme (2004) found a significant difference between
where the fish WFi was stated as: empty flood and well-filled ebb tide intestines of tidally
migrating C. psittacus at diurnal neap tides in the study
WP (SF)j,i = (WPj,I x (a + b x GM)) x (2) area. Hence, we assume that the stomach contents at the
end of the ebb tide are the minimum of what the fish have
(a + b x WFi)-1 eaten, thus it is a conservative measure. Factor 2 assumes
that each intertidal inundation, both in the daytime and
Using y = 0.025 x – 0.016 (r2 = 0.95; n = 101) we
at night, is a feeding period for C. psittacus while the
converted the original stomach content weights into
low water period is not. The dry weight proportion of
standardized stomach content weights for each size class the prey in each individual predator intestine was used to
(Brenner et al., 2001). assess the wet weight proportion and was multiplied by
2.7. Patterns in diet composition and feeding strategy the individual predator wet weight and monthly averages
The similarities in diet composition between size class were calculated.
and month were displayed using non-parametric multi-
dimensional scaling (MDS) (Clarke and Warwick, 1994). 3. Results
In the original species-sample table, each cell contained We caught 28, 24, 25 and 25 C. psittacus in June,
the standardized mean weight of food item (g) per size July, August, and September, respectively, which were
class and month (e.g. Jun1 = smallest size class in June). used for quantitative assessments of feeding habits
We used square-root transformation to generate the Bray- (n = 102; size range: 4-20.5 cm SL). 73% of the intes-
Curtis similarity matrix. The stress of the MDS represen- tines were more than 50% filled. There was no empty
tation - a measure of how well the ordination represents intestine and only 6% were filled to less than 25%.
the similarities between the samples - was assessed using Morphometric relationships of C. psittacus are
the classification of Clarke and Warwick (1994) where a shown in Table 1. C. psittacus displayed a slightly nega-
stress value <0.1 corresponds to a good ordination with tive weight increase (b < 3). The condition factor was
no real prospect of a misleading interpretation. 3.2. The intestine lies in the posterior section of the ab-
The feeding strategy of C. psittacus was assessed dominal cavity where it forms two or three loops. The
using the feeding strategy plot of Costello (1990). The mean RLDT (1.0 ± 0.2 SD; range: 0.7-1.4; n = 56) indi-
prey-specific abundance was based on dry weight. cated a carnivorous feeding habit of C. psittacus.

Table 1. Length relationships of C. psittacus from mangrove creeks near Bragança, north Brazil. N is the sample size; r2 is
the coefficient of determination.
Relationship Formula Variables Size range N r2
Length-weight Y = 0.059 X2.7 Y = Weight (g); X = TL 1-31 cm TL 799 0.99
Length-length Y = 0.834 X – 0.315 Y = TL; X = SL 4-20.5 cm SL 105 0.99
Length-length Y = 1.192 X + 0.443 Y = SL; X = TL 5-25 cm TL 105 0.99
Stomach length Y = 0.886 X + 1.365 Y = stomach length; X = TL 5-25 cm TL 56 0.84

386 Braz. J. Biol., 67(3): 383-392, 2007

 Feeding ecology of Colomesus psittacus

3.1. Stomach fullness Classification of the diet composition of C. psittacus

IFI was significantly higher in the two larger creeks showed that the grouping patterns were primarily deter-
1 and 2 than in the small creek 3 (three-way ANOVA, mined by changes in the proportions between Cirripedia
F = 12.68, P < 0.001). The IFI was significantly high- and Brachyura (Figure 3). Ordination by non-metric
er in June/July than in August/September (three-way multidimensional scaling (MDS) revealed a “horizontal
ANOVA, F = 68.65, P < 0.05). Although the IFI did not Cirripedia axis” and a “vertical Brachyura axis”: These
differ between size classes, there was a trend to decreas- samples without or poor in Cirripedia, mainly taken in
ing IFI with increasing fish size. On average, the fish had August and September (left group), were separated from
eaten 7% ± 3.3 SD of their wet weight (n = 102; range: samples containing Cirripedia, mainly taken in June and
0.4‑15.4%). July (right group). Samples with the highest proportions
of Brachyura coinciding with the largest size classes in
3.2. Diet composition August and September were located at the bottom (see
Cirripedia (Balanus amphitrite, B. eburneus, and also Figure 2).
probably some other species) and Brachyuran man- The feeding plot in Figure 4 shows that C. psittacus
grove crabs dominated the diet with on average 58 and is a specialized feeder of Cirripedia and Brachyura.
38% of the dry weight, respectively (Figure 1). Uca Cirripedia and Brachyura were found in 50 and 85% of
spp. and Pachygrapsus gracilis were the most abundant
Brachyuran crabs in the diet (Table 2). Other important
food items in terms of weight were Teleostei (usually only a
June
muscle tissue and scales) and Bivalvia (Mytella strigata, 6
M. guyanensis, Crassostrea aff. rizophorae). Less impor- <7 cm (n = 12)
tant were Polychaeta (Isolda aff. pulchella, Nereididae, 7-<10 cm (n = 12)
4
10-<14 cm (n = 4)
Capitellidae, Phyllodocidae), insects (Blattodea, r cm (n = 0)
Hemiptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera), filamentous red 2
and green algae (lacking any indication of digestion),
Gnathiidae (praniza stage), Natantia (Troglocubanus 0
Mean standardized weight of food item per fish size class (g)

sp.), Gastropoda (c.f. Littorina angulifera), Amphipoda

(Corophioidae), Bryozoa (Membraniporidae), Mysidace 6 July b
a, and seeds. The number of prey categories decreased <7 cm (n = 9)
with increasing fish size (14, 12, 8 and 6 prey categories 4 7-< 10 cm (n = 8)
from the smallest to the largest size class) (Figure 1). 10-<14 cm (n = 4)
r cm (n = 4)
Only the largest size class had no Teleostei in the intes- 2
tines.
Cirripedia dominated the diet in June/July (77 and 0
83% of the total dry weight, respectively) but decreased
in August (43%) down to 16% in September. Contrarily, 6 August c
Brachyura were less important in June/July (14 and 15% <7 cm (n = 10)
respectively), but increased in August (51%) and domi- 4 7-< 10 cm (n = 8)
nated the diet in September (79%) (Figure 2). The other 10-<14 cm (n = 5)
food items were too rare to detect a temporal trend. 2 r cm (n = 1)

Table 2. Relative abundance of taxa within the food cat- 6 d

September
egory “Brachyura” of n = 102 C. psittacus from intertidal
<7 cm (n = 7)
mangrove creeks in north Brazil, June-September 1997. 4
7-< 10 cm (n = 8)
Brachyuran crab species % 10-<14 cm (n = 6)
2 r cm (n = 4)
Uca spp. (Ocypodidae) a 41
Pachygrapsus gracilis (Grapsidae) 14 0
Aratus pisonii (Grapsidae) 8
Cirripedia Brachyura Teleostei Bivalvia Others
Xanthidae 7
Food item
Sesarma sp. (Grapsidae) b 4
Goniopsis cruentata (Grapsidae) 1 Figure 2. Food composition in monthly samples (June -
September) of four size classes of C. psittacus in grams dry
Callinectes sp. (Portunidae) 1
weight (±SD). Dry weights of food items were standardized
Unidentified 22 per fish size class. Specimens were caught in three intertidal
a
U. cumulanta, U. maracoani, U. vocator; and bS. rectum, 1st order mangrove creeks of the Furo do Meio (north Brazil)
S. curacaoense at diurnal neap tides in the early dry season of 1997.

Braz. J. Biol., 67(3): 383-392, 2007 387

 Krumme, U. et al.

Stress = 0.09
3.3. Predation impact
Sep1 The measure of predation impact on Cirripedia and
Aug2 Jun1 Brachyura is shown in Table 3. Monthly changes in the
Aug1 Jul2 predation impact reflect the monthly differences in food
Jun 3
Jul 3
consumption (Figures 2, 3). On average 100.27 g.ha-1.d-1
Jul1 Jun2 Cirripedia and 178.66 g.ha-1.d-1 Brachyura (wet weight)
were eaten by C. psittacus during the sample period. The
Aug3 mean daily consumption of Cirripedia and Brachyura
Sep2 was 6.2% per body weight of C. psittacus.
Sep4 Jul4
Aug4
4. Discussion
Sep3
This study provides first hand information on the
Figure 3. MDS plot of the similarities in food composition feeding ecology of mangrove-inhabiting C. psittacus.
of C. psittacus caught at high water at diurnal neap tides in A general shortcoming of our study is the limited sam-
1st order mangrove creeks of the Furo do Meio (north Brazil) ple period and the low sample sizes in some month-size
in four months in the early dry season 1997. Identification class combinations. Nevertheless, some general patterns
codes indicate month of capture and size class (1: <7 cm SL; emerged that contribute to our understanding of the feed-
2: 7-<10 cm; 3: 10-<14 cm; 4: ≥14 cm). Groups are circled ing ecology of. C. psittacus.
according to 53% (dashed line) and 63% (continuous line)
similarity of the cluster dendrogram (not shown). 4.1. Food composition
Cirripedia and Brachyura dominated the diet in all
size classes. An ontogentic feeding shift in C. psittacus
100
was only apparent in terms of narrowing the prey spec-
Cir trum with size. The weight proportion of the wider range
80 of prey items in the smallest size class was too small to
Prey-Specific dry weight (%)

be translated quantitatively. In contrast, Targett (1978)

found both qualitative and quantitative changes with
60 Alg growth in the diets of S. spengleri and S. testudineus.
+ Bra The lack of a significant quantitative change in the food
habit of C. psittacus may reflect the overall abundance
40 Tel and availability of Brachyura and Cirripedia and the
minor abundance of bivalves or gastropods in appropri-
20 ate size ranges in the macrotidal Caeté estuary (Wolff
et al., 2000). The considerable amount of hard-shelled
Bry Biv items in the diet may explain the relatively long RLDT of
Ins
0 1234 C. psittacus. According to Al-Hussaini (1947) mollusk
0 20 40 60 80 100 feeders have RLDT between 0.6 and 1.4.
Frequency of occurrence (%) Several examples of similar diet spectra have
Figure 4. Feeding strategy plot (Costello 1990) based on been observed for the Tetraodontidae family. The diet
prey-specific dry weight of C. psittacus (n = 102) caught in of the milk-spotted puffer Chelonodon patoca near
the mangrove channel Furo do Meio (north Brazil) in the Townsville (Australia) (Beumer, 1978) and of the puff-
early dry season 1997. The points represent the food items ers S. spengleri and S. testudineus (Targett, 1978) in
Bra: Brachyura; Cir: Cirripedia; Tel: Teleostei (artefact in Florida are also dominated by hard-shelled crustaceans
the diet); Alg: Red and green algae; Bry: Bryozoa; Biv: Bi- and mollusks. However, Cirripedia and Brachyura are
valvia; Ins: Insecta; 1: Gastropoda; 2: Amphipoda; 3: Na- less dominant while other food items such as copepods
tantia 4: Polychaeta. or hermit crabs occurred more frequently. S. rosenblatti
prey upon mangrove periwinkles up to 13 cm above the
water surface in Puerto Rico (Duncan and Szelistowski,
the intestines, respectively, and the average contribution 1998). S. spengleri breaks the shells of gastropods and
to the intestine weight was 82 and 44%, respectively. only swallowed the soft portions (Targett, 1978). The
Teleostei were only consumed by 20% of the C. ­psittacus few gastropods in the diet of C. psittacus were consumed
but contributed 32% to the intestine weight. Two speci- including the shell suggesting that gastropods are too
mens consumed considerable amounts of algae. There rare to induce a specialization in prey handling.
was neither a high within- nor between phenotype com- The gradual replacement of Cirripedia by
ponent, thus indicating a relatively narrow feeding niche. Brachyuran crabs between June and September in the
The other prey categories were occasionally included in diet of C. psittacus paralleled the gradual monthly sa-
the diet of some individuals, but had an insignificant con- linity increase. Unpublished data of Giarrizzo suggest
tribution to the intestine weight. that the wet season diet of C. psittacus is dominated

388 Braz. J. Biol., 67(3): 383-392, 2007

 Feeding ecology of Colomesus psittacus

Table 3. Predation impact on Cirripedia and Brachyuran crabs by C. psittacus expressed in grams of prey wet-weight eaten
per hectare per day. Fish were caught at diurnal neap ebb tides in intertidal mangrove creeks (north Brazil) with block nets
in the early dry season 1997. The predation impact is the product of the abundance of C. psittacus (g.ha-1.tide-1), the mean
proportion of Cirripedia or Brachyura in the diet per tide and multiplied by 2 to account for the semidiurnal tide. Daily con-
sumption of Cirripedia and Brachyura is given in % body weight of C. psittacus.
Month Predator Cirripedia Brachyura Consumption
abundance Proportion in Predation Proportion in Predation (% BW.d-1)
(g.ha-1.tide-1) the diet tide-1 (g.ha-1.d-1) the diet tide-1 (g.ha-1.d-1)
June 1048.65 0.059 123.67 0.019 39.34 7.77
July 1856.09 0.032 118.74 0.030 112.79 6.24
August 5329.36 0.014 152.55 0.043 458.38 5.73
Sept. 1062.91 0.003 6.12 0.049 104.12 5.19
Average 2324.25 100.27 178.66 6.23

by Cirripedia while Brachyuran crabs are common in The mangrove productivity is, however, not ex-
the dry season diet. The Brachyuran crab resource is ported due to offshore migration by the fish as Sheaves
abundant in the mangrove throughout the year (Koch, and Molony (2000) assumed for a system in tropical
1999) and unlikely to be subject to strong monthly fluc- East Australia. South of the Amazon delta, where man-
tuations in abundance. In contrast, Cirripedia are known groves cover more than 400 km of continuous coastline
to show high fluctuations in recruitment and survival (Lacerda et al., 2000, p. 9), other complex shallow wa-
related to changes in salinity (Sandison, 1966; Bacon, ter environments such as coral reefs or sea grass beds
1971). However, neither monthly changes in abundance that could motivate offshore movements of the fish are
of Cirripedia nor Brachyura were investigated during absent. Therefore, considerable amounts of mangrove
the study period in the mangrove. The IFI were signifi- productivity, for instance taken by Brachyuran crabs and
cantly higher in June/July when Cirripedia dominated Cirripedia, are likely to remain in the mangrove ecosys-
the diet of puffers. Assuming that Cirripedia really be- tem as C. psittacus and other dominant fish species spend
came less abundant in the mangrove and that Brachyura their entire life in the mangrove environment (Barletta
were constant, C. psittacus would prefer Cirripedia over et al., 2003; Krumme et al., 2004).
Brachyura, hence prey more intensely on Brachyura only
4.3. Patterns in feeding
when the Cirripedia density decreases. This preference
may be due to either greater forage efficiency for ses- The diurnal neap tide submergence was a major
sile Cirripedia or to the fact that Cirripedia are a food feeding period for C. psittacus. Catches at neap and
resource of higher quality. spring tides in intertidal mangrove creeks showed that
The presence of teleostei in the diet of C. psittacus C. psittacus is clearly diurnal at neap tides whereas at
is most likely an artefact related to the fishing method. spring tide, C. psittacus forage both during the morn-
During the receding tide, the fish became physically con- ing and the evening submergence (Krumme et al., 2004).
centrated on the upstream side of the block net. Such an In the study area, fiddler crabs are diurnal and cease to
artificial proximity enabled C. psittacus to bite off mus- feed in the evening (Koch, 1999). Probably, C. psittacus
cle tissue and scales of other fish. However, entire fish rely mainly on visual cues to search for its prey. Targett
were never found in the intestines. (1978) also inferred that the two Sphoeroides species
studied in Florida feed primarily during the day.
4.2. Energy flow The overall foraging pattern of C. psittacus may re-
C. psittacus can be classified as a carnivorous second semble the one that Brenner and Krumme (2007) deter-
order consumer. Therefore, one of the dominant fish spe- mined for another, also a visual intertidal forager in the
cies of tidal mangrove channels along the north Brazilian study area, the four-eyed fish Anableps anableps: The
coast lives on prey of low trophic levels. This emphasizes combination of high inundation during daylight hours
the conclusion of Sheaves and Molony (2000) that food (spring tide-day) provided optimum foraging conditions
chains leading from mangroves to top predators are likely whereas darkness and low inundation were linked to
to be shorter than previously thought. C. psittacus have a poor foraging conditions (neap tide-night); neap tide-day
key function in a short intertidal mangrove food web. The and spring tide-night were intermediate.
energy of the mangrove detritus fuels the microbial pro- Our assumption - “no feeding at low water” - used
duction that is consumed by detrivorous mangrove crabs in calculating the consumption rates is supported by the
who are the prey of high-level piscine predators such as diet composition of C. psittacus. The specialization on
C. psittacus, but also Sciades ­herzbergii, Batrachoides Cirripedia and Brachyura suggests that C. psittacus,
surinamensis and some Sciaenidae. According to our similar to A. anableps, primarily rely on prey located
current knowledge of the Caeté system, C. psittacus is in the intertidal zone. Feeding activity is probably high-
the principal predator of filter feeding Cirripedia. est during inundation while low-water periods may be

Braz. J. Biol., 67(3): 383-392, 2007 389

 Krumme, U. et al.

devoted to other activities (e.g. resting or digesting). The distribution of epibenthos species in the Caeté
Hence, tidally migrating C. psittacus may transfer man- estuary follows a vertical zonation (Koch et al., 2005).
grove productivity from the intertidal to the subtidal Crab species that are abundant in the high intertidal
zone. zone on the mangrove plateau such as Ucides cordatus
Given the likely low foraging activity during a nightly and U. rapax were absent from the neap tide diet of C.
neap tide, our daily consumption rates of Cirripedia and ­psittacus but may occur at spring tides when the man-
Brachyura based on simply doubling the daytime con- grove forest is accessible.
sumption may be overestimates for neap tides (Table 3). Fiddler crabs stay in their burrows during the inunda-
However, it may provide a reasonable first estimate for tion period and actively forage on the mud only when the
average daily consumption, but a conservative estimate intertidal zone is exposed to air (Koch, 1999). Therefore,
is likely given the increased foraging area under spring C. psittacus must apparently be able to detect fiddler
tide conditions. crabs beneath the mud surface or catch individuals that
C. psittacus caught in the small creek 3 had sig- are somehow active on the mud during submergence.
nificantly emptier intestines than those of the two larger The relative abundance of Brachyuran crabs in the
creeks 1 and 2 suggesting that smaller creeks are poorer diet did not change with the fish size (Figure 1). However,
feeding grounds for C. psittacus. However, C. psittacus especially large C. psittacus ate considerable amounts
also swim against the tide (Krumme, 2004) and possibly of Brachyuran crabs (Figures 2, 3). Targett (1978) also
would have continued to forage in neighbouring creeks found that the largest puffers consumed substantial
if they had not been blocked by the net. amounts of Brachyuran crabs. This is likely related to the
spherical body form of puffers that allows an increase
4.4. Plant-animal interaction
in the intestine volume closer to the power of 3 than in
In soft bottom environments of the mangrove, other fish species. The high condition factor of 3.2 high-
Cirripedia occur as part of the epibiota on permanent lighted this relationship. Fish with “normal” shapes have
hard structures; mainly on stilt roots of R. mangle in condition factors between 0.5 and 1.5 (Cinco, 1982).
the intertidal zone. The negligible amounts of gastro-
pods, algae and bivalves in the diet of C. psittacus were 4.6. Swimming behaviour and foraging movements
likely consumed as part of the Aufwuchs (epibiota in C. psittacus produce point wakes (Hanke and
the fouling community) associated with Cirripedia liv- Bleckmann, 2004). In the study area, C. psittacus have
ing on the stilt roots of R. mangle. The extensive preda- to minutely maneuver in strong tidal currents close to the
tion of C. psittacus on Cirripedia suggests the existence substrate in a complex mangrove environment in order
of an important plant-animal interaction: The predation to focus on both sessile and moving benthic prey. Here,
of C. psittacus decreases the coverage with Aufwuchs point wakes may be an adaptation to prey on balanids
of mangrove stilt roots and hence increases mangrove and mangrove crabs with a minimum of turbulent dis-
growth as clean roots facilitate oxygen uptake by the turbance as behavioral responses to chemical and visual
root system (Perry, 1988). A similar mutually beneficial cues are involved in predator avoidance of fiddler crabs
cleaning function is likely executed by the four-eyed fish (Chiussi and Diaz, 2002) and the mangrove tree crab
A. anableps that primarily forage for epiphytic red algae Aratus pisonii (Chiussi, 2003).
on the stilt roots (Brenner and Krumme 2007). Likewise, In contrast to other mangrove fish, foraging
Koch and Wolff (1996) assumed a cleaning function for C. psittacus often swim close to the water surface. In
a mangrove snail in Costa Rica. However, the positive ef- the center of the larger mangrove channels, they patrol
fect of root cleaning fish on mangrove growth still awaits for prey especially at the ebb tide by maintaining a posi-
quantification. tion while swimming against the current (Krumme and
Saint-Paul, 2003). In the shallower mangrove creeks C.
4.5. Brachyuran crabs
­psittacus maneuver close to the creek levees. At spring
The other principal food category of C. psittacus was tides, juvenile C. psittacus can be observed on the flood-
semi-terrestrial Brachyuran crabs which have a consider- ed mangrove plateau in water less than 0.1 m deep forag-
able influence on the fluxes of organic matter and en- ing for Brachyuran crabs and Insecta (pers. obs.). During
ergy of the mangrove ecosystem (Koch, 1999; Koch and these near-surface excursions, the warning coloration in
Wolff, 2002). Therefore, C. psittacus has a quantitatively the dorsal aspect may serve against terrestrial predators
important predatory function in the mangrove food web such as egrets (Casmerodius albus, Egretta thula), the
(Wolff et al., 2000). In the Caeté estuary, Koch and Wolff raccoon Procyon cancrivorus or the ape Cebus apella.
(2002) found the highest number of epibenthic species Rapid inflation of the abdominal cavity may serve
in intertidal mangrove creeks. In this mangrove habitat, against the nocturnal fishing bat Noctilio leporinus but is
U. maracoani, P. gracilis and U. cumulanta contributed primarily a defense against piscine predators.
most to the total biomass. The latter two crabs were by
far the most abundant species (Koch and Wolff, 2002) 4.7. Potential resource
and their abundance in the diet of C. psittacus likely re- The C. psittacus resource in north Brazil is currently
flected their numerical and weight dominance and avail- unused due to the known toxicity of the fish. However,
ability in the creeks (Table 2). considering the current labor situation of the “mangrove

390 Braz. J. Biol., 67(3): 383-392, 2007

 Feeding ecology of Colomesus psittacus

civilizations” in the region (Glaser, 2003), two possible BEUMER, JP., 1978. Feeding ecology of four fishes from a
income alternatives using C. psittacus may emerge: i) mangrove creek in north Queensland, Australia. J. Fish Biol.,
sustainable catch and filet processing for exports to east vol. 12, no. 5, p. 475-490.
Asia; and ii) developing certified aquaculture methods BREDER, CM JR. and CLARK, E., 1947. A contribution to
for sustainable breeding of puffers for the aquarium trade the visceral anatomy, development, and relationships of the
(Duncan and de la Parra, 2002; Gasparini et al., 2005). Plectognathi. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 88, p. 287-320.

Acknowledgments — We are grateful to A. Barletta-Bergan and BRENNER, M., BUCK, BH., CORDES, S., DIETRICH, L.,
M. Barletta, and the fishermen Walmiro and André for support JACOB, U., MINTENBECK, K., SCHRÖDER, A., BREY, T.,
during the sampling. We would like to thank M. Taylor and T. KNUST R. and ARNTZ, WE., 2001. The role of iceberg scours
Giarrizzo for their comments on the manuscript. This work in niche separation within the Antartic fish genus Trematomus.
resulted from the cooperation between the Center for Tropical Polar Biol., vol. 24, p. 502-507.
Marine Ecology (ZMT), Bremen, Germany, and the Univ. BRENNER, M. and KRUMME, U., 2007. Tidal migration and
Federal do Pará (UFPa), Belém, Brazil, under the Governmental patterns in feeding of the four-eyed fish Anableps anableps L. in
Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Scientific Research a north Brazilian mangrove. J. Fish Biol., vol. 70, p. 406-427.
and Technological Development between Germany and Brazil
financed by the German Ministry for Education, Science, BREWER, DT., BLABER, SJM. and SALINI, JP., 1991.
Research and Technology (BMBF) [Project number: 03F0253A, Predation on penaeid prawns by fishes in Albatross bay, Gulf of
Mangrove Dynamics and Management - MADAM], and the Carpentaria. Mar. Biol., vol. 109, p. 231-240.
Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Tecnologia (CNPq) [MADAM
CASTRO, ACL., 2001. Diversidade da assembléia de peixes em
contribution 94].
igarapés do estuário do Rio Paciência (MA – Brasil). Atlântica,
vol. 23, p. 39-47.
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