FEEDING ECOLOGY OF PREDATORY FISHES FROM GROOTE-EYLANDT IN THE GULF OF CARPENTARIA, AUSTRALIA, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO PREDATION ON PENAEID PRAWNS

The aim of this study was to describe the feeding ecology of predatory fishes in the inshore waters of Groote Eylandt in the Gulf of Carpentaria, a large tropical bay in northern Australia. This knowledge will increase our understanding of trophic ecology of fishes in tropical waters and, in particular, their interactions with commercially important penaeid prawns. Several structurally complex habitats, including seagrass beds, mixed seagrass/reef habitats and mangrove areas, which support a diverse marine fauna, are found in these shallow waters. Consequently the diets of most predatory fishes in the region comprise a wide variety of fish and invertebrate prey. Juveniles of several species of penaeid live in seagrasses, where they are preyed on by, especially, Scomberoides commersonianus and the common shark species. However, the impact on juvenile penaeid populations is not as high as in the tropical estuaries of north-eastern Australia where fish abundances are lower. Many predatory fishes are size-selective and, in general, larger fish eat bigger penaeids. Seasonal and diel predation on penaeids is largely density-dependent. Evidence from this and previous studies indicates that individual species of tropical marine fishes eat similar prey (taxa and proportions) regardless of their habitat; any differences are chiefly only at the level of genus or species.