Food Composition of the Whiting, Merlangius merlangus in the South-eastern Coast of the Black Sea

Necati DEMİR; İsmet BALIK

doi:https://doi.org/10.22392/actaquatr.753134

Article Details

Food Composition of the Whiting, Merlangius merlangus in the South-eastern Coast of the Black Sea

Authors:

Necati DEMİR | İsmet BALIK

Publisher:

Isparta University of Applied Sciences

Main Topics:

Life sciences

Journal:

Acta Aquatica Turcica 2021 Vol.17 Issue 1, pp.64-71

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

2/2021

Document Language:

English

Document ID (Org No.):

2000439459

Frequency:

Quarterly

eISSN:

2651-5474

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22392/actaquatr.753134

Abstract:

 


In this study, the food composition of whiting, Merlangius merlangus, from the South-eastern coasts of the Black Sea was seasonally investigated. With this aim, stomach contents of 762 specimens, the total length of 12.7-18.6 cm, and the body weight of 17-56.5 g, collected between September 2016 and August 2017 were analyzed. It was determined that 75.7% (577 stomachs) of the stomachs examined were empty. The percentage of empty stomachs didn’t show seasonal variation with maximal occurrence in autumn (76.9%) and minimal in winter (74.5%). The prey items identified macroscopically in the stomachs were horse mackerel, Trachurus mediterraneus, anchovy, Engraulis encrasicolus, whiting, Merlangius merlangus, sprat, Sprattus sprattus, goby, Gobius sp. from fish species and Gastrapod from Mollusca. Horse mackerel was the most important ingested prey (IRI%=43.2), followed by anchovy (IRI%=32.0) and whiting (IRI%=19.3). In the diet of the whiting, the sprat and the goby were less important than other fish species. The most important food was horse mackerel in the spring and summer seasons, while it was anchovy in the autumn and winter seasons. Cannibalism was the highest (F%=25) in the spring period and followed by summer (F%=23.8), autumn (F%=21.6) and winter (F%=16.2), respectively. It was determined that whiting consumed individuals of their species as food, up to 37.6% of their length and 11.2% of their weight.

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Bu çalışmada, Karadeniz'in güney-doğu kıyılarındaki mezgit, Merlangius merlangus balıklarının besinleri ve besleme alışkanlıkları mevsimsel olarak araştırılmıştır. Bu amaçla, Eylül 2016-Ağustos 2017 arasında avlanan ve boyları 12,7-18,6 cm, ağırlıkları 17-56,5 g arasında değişen 762 bireyin mide içeriği analiz edilmiştir. İncelenen midelerin %75,7'sinin (577 mide) boş olduğu belirlenmiştir. En fazla boş mideye sonbaharda (%76,9), en az boş mideye ise kış (%74,5) mevsiminde rastlanmıştır. Mezgit balığı midelerinde makroskopik olarak yapılan incelemelerde besin olarak balık türlerinden istavrit, Trachurus mediterraneus, hamsi, Engraulis encrasicolus, mezgit, Merlangius merlangus, çaça, Sprattus sprattus ve kaya balığı, Gobius sp. ile mollusklardan Gastrapoda tespit edilmiştir. En önemli besinin istavrit (%IRI=43,2) olduğu, onu hamsi (%IRI=32,0) ve kendi türünün (mezgit) (%IRI=19,3) izlediği saptanmıştır. Mezgit balığı diyetinde çaça ve kaya balığının önemi diğer balık türlerine göre daha düşük bulunmuştur. İlkbahar ve yaz mevsimlerinde en önemli besin istavrit iken, sonbahar ve kış mevsimlerinde hamsidir. Kanibalizm ilkbaharda en yüksek (%F=25) iken, bunu sırasıyla yaz (%F=23,8), sonbahar (%F=21,6) ve kış (%F=16,2) mevsimleri izlemiştir. Mezgit balıklarının kendi türüne ait boylarının %37,6'sına, ağırlıklarının %11,2'sine kadar olan bireyleri besin olarak tükettikleri belirlenmiştir.

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Article Details

Food Composition of the Whiting, Merlangius merlangus in the South-eastern Coast of the Black Sea

Authors: Necati DEMİR | İsmet BALIK

Publisher: Isparta University of Applied Sciences

Main Topics: Life sciences

Journal: Acta Aquatica Turcica 2021 Vol.17 Issue 1, pp.64-71

Document Type: Article

Publication Date: 2/2021

Document Language: English

Document ID (Org No.): 2000439459

Frequency: Quarterly

eISSN: 2651-5474

DOI: https://doi.org/10.22392/actaquatr.753134

Issues

Authors:

Necati DEMİR | İsmet BALIK

Publisher:

Isparta University of Applied Sciences

Main Topics:

Life sciences

Journal:

Acta Aquatica Turcica 2021 Vol.17 Issue 1, pp.64-71

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

2/2021

Document Language:

English

Document ID (Org No.):

2000439459

Frequency:

Quarterly

eISSN:

2651-5474

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22392/actaquatr.753134