A trait-based approach reveals the feeding selectivity of a small endangered Mediterranean fish.

ABSTRACT: Functional traits are growing in popularity in modern ecology, but feeding studies remain primarily rooted in a taxonomic-based perspective. However, consumers do not have any reason to select their prey using a taxonomic criterion, and prey assemblages are variable in space and time, which makes taxon-based studies assemblage-specific. To illustrate the benefits of the trait-based approach to assessing food choice, we studied the feeding ecology of the endangered freshwater fish Barbus meridionalis. We hypothesized that B. meridionalis is a selective predator which food choice depends on several prey morphological and behavioral traits, and thus, its top-down pressure may lead to changes in the functional composition of in-stream macroinvertebrate communities. Feeding selectivity was infe

SUBMITTER: Rodriguez-Lozano P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4870214 | biostudies-literature | 2016 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature