Distribution and feeding habits of three sea robin species (Bellator brachychir, Prionotus nudigula and Prionotus punctatus) in the Campos Basin, Southeastern Brazil

Abstract

The distribution, size structure, and feeding of three sea robin species belonging to the family Triglidae (Bellator brachychir, Prionotus nudigula and Prionotus punctatus) were studied based on specimens caught with bottom trawls on the continental shelf of Campos Basin, southeastern Brazil. The two Prionotus species were more concentrated in the inner shelf (<50 m), while B. brachychir was generally more abundant on the outer shelf (50-100 m). In general, the three species showed a carcinophagous diet, but with small overlap in their main preys. While amphipods was the most important prey to B. brachychir, isopods and shrimps were the basic food item found in P. nudigula and P. punctatus diet, respectively. This reduction in interspecific competition for food was followed by some degree of spatial segregation and thermal preferences for each species.