Feeding Patterns of Brown Croaker, Miichthys miiuy (Basilewsky, 1855) from the South-Western Waters off Korea: Size-Related and Seasonal Trends

Abstract

Diets and feeding patterns of brown croaker, Miichthys miiuy were studied using 293 specimens collected from the coastal waters of south-western Korea. Total length (TL) of these specimens ranged from 30.7 to 84.8 cm. Miichthys miiuy was a piscivore that primarily consumed teleosts. They also ate crustacean decapods including caridean shrimps, prawns and crabs. Multivariate analyses of dietary data revealed that the diets of M. miiuy were significantly associated with TL, maturity, and month, but not influenced by season or sex. Although teleosts were dominant in the diets of all sizes, decapods also contributed substantially to the diets of smaller individuals. In terms of month, a little change was observed among months. A graphical method of feeding pattern revealed that M. miiuy was a specialized predator, consuming mainly teleosts from both immature and mature groups. Taken together, stomach content analysis in this study indicated that fish size is the most important indicator on dietary changes of M. miiuy inhabiting south-western waters off Korea.