Diet and diel feeding activity of juvenile pompano (Trachinotus ovatus) (Teleostei: Carangidae) from the southern Adriatic, Croatia

Abstract

Food and feeding activity of juvenile pompano Trachinotus ovatus (25–97 mm) collected in the summer–autumn in 2003 in coastal shallow-water bays in the south-eastern Adriatic were examined. Juvenile pompano were exclusively daytime feeders and fed in the entire water column, from surface to bottom taking not only plankton, but benthic and terrestrial species as well. Of 18 prey taxa identified, crustaceans—particularly copepods—were the major group, followed by benthic foraminiferans and insects. Feeding on benthic species is reported for the first time in this study.