Abstract
Feeding behavior of juvenile batfish Platax orbicularis, which presents a mimic state resembling a fallen leaf drifting on the water surface, were surveyed on reefs off Kuchierabu-jima Island, southern Japan. The fish consistently showed drifting swimming patterns on the surface during daylight hours, and fed in a picking–feeding manner on algae covering floating materials or substrates near the water surface. The fish drastically switched to planktivory during the night as they actively hunted free zooplanktonic particles through combined ram and suction feeding manners. Stomach content analysis supported that the fish adopted different feeding tactics, targeting different food items between the two diel periods. Even without an abrupt change of habitat use, due to its mimic state, juveniles of P. orbicularis explore different preys according to their daily activities.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alldredge AL, King MJ (1977) Distribution, abundance and substrate preference of demersal reef zooplankton at Lizard Island Lagoon, Great Barrier Reef. Mar Biol 41:494–501
Breder CM (1946) An analysis of the deceptive resemblances of fishes to plant parts, with critical remarks on protective coloration, mimicry and adaptation. Bull Bingham Oceanogr Collect 10:1–49
Diana JS (1995) Biology and ecology of fishes. Biological Sciences Press, London
Galis F (1990) Ecological and morphological aspects of change in food uptake through the ontogeny of Haplochromis piceatus. In: Hughes RN (ed) Behavioural mechanisms of food selection. Proceedings of the NATO advanced research workshop on behavioural mechanisms of food selection. Springer, Berlin, pp 281–302
Gerking SD (1962) Production and food utilization in a population of bluegill sunfish. Ecol Monogr 32:31–78
Gerking SD (1994) Feeding ecology of fish. Academic, London
Godin JGJ (1997) Behavioural ecology of teleost fishes. Oxford University Press, New York
Heemstra PC (2001) Ephippidae - Spadefishes (Batfishes). In: Carpenter KE, Niem V (eds) FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the western central Pacific, vol 6. FAO, Rome, pp 3611–3622
Hiatt RW, Strasburg DW (1960) Ecological relationships of the fish fauna on coral reefs of the Marshall Islands. Ecol Monogr 30:65–127
Kishimoto H, Hayashi M, Kohno H, Moriyama O (1988) Revision of japanese batfishes, genus Platax. Scientific Reports of Yokosuka City Museum 36:19–40
Krajewski JP, Bonaldo RM, Sazima C, Sazima I (2006) Foraging activity and behaviour of two goatfish species (Perciformes: Mullidae) at Fernando de Noronha Archipelago, tropical West Atlantic. Environ Biol Fish 77:1–8
Kuiter RH, Debelius H (2001) Surgeonfishes, rabbitfishes and their relatives: a comprehensive guide to Acanthuroidei. TMC publishing, Chorleywood
Liem KF (1970) Comparative functional anatomy of the Nandidae (Pisces, Teleostei). Fieldiana Zool 56:1–166
Lima-Junior SE, Goiten R (2001) A new method for the analysis of fish stomach contents. Acta Sci 23:421–424
Lowe-McConnell RH (1987) Ecological studies in tropical fish communities. Cambridge University Press, New York
Motro R, Ayalon I, Genin A (2005) Near-bottom depletion of zooplankton over coral reefs: III: vertical gradient of predation pressure. Coral Reefs 24:95–98
Nakabo T (ed) (2002) Fishes of Japan with pictorial keys to the species, English edition. Tokai University Press, Tokyo
Nelson JS (2006) Fishes of the world, 4th edn. Wiley, NJ
Ohta I, Tachihara K (2003) Larval development and food habits of the marbled parrotfish, Leptoscarus vaigiensis, associated with drifting algae. Ichthyol Res 51:63–69
Randall JE (2005) Reef and shore fishes of the south Pacific: New Caledonia to Tahiti and the Pitcairn Islands. University of Hawaii Press, Hawaii
Randall JE, Randall HA (1960) Examples of mimicry and protective resemblance in tropical marine fishes. Bull Mar Sci Gulf Caribb 10:444–480
Steele JH, McIntyre AD, Edwards RRC, Trevallion A (1970) Interrelations of a young plaice population with its invertebrate food supply. In: Watson A (ed) Animal populations in relation to their food resources. Blackwell, Oxford, pp 375–388
Stephens DW, Krebs JR (1986) Foraging theory. Princeton University Press, New Jersey
Werner EE, Hall DJ (1974) Optimal foraging and the size selection of prey by the bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus). Ecology 55:1042–1052
Acknowledgments
We thank all members of the Kuchierabu-jima Island community, Y. Masui (Blue-7-Sea) and the fishing community of Chatan, Okinawa, K. Nakahata, and S. Oyama (Kagoshima City Aquarium), A. Corradi Pretz, P. Corradi Pretz, and A. Corradi (Búfalo Forest) for technical support. Thanks are also due to members of the Biology of Aquatic Resources, Hiroshima University, especially N. Shimizu and T. Kadota, for contributions and critical opinions during the course of this study. We are deeply grateful to H. Higuchi (MPEG), J. Ribeiro Carvalho Junior, and A. Camoes (CENJA) for revising the manuscript and for criticisms and suggestions. This study was supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports Science and Technology of Japan.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
About this article
Cite this article
Barros, B., Sakai, Y., Hashimoto, H. et al. Feeding behavior of leaf-like juveniles of the round batfish Platax orbicularis (Ephippidae) on reefs of Kuchierabu-jima Island, southern Japan. J Ethol 26, 287–293 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10164-007-0066-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10164-007-0066-8