food and feeding habits

Food and

Feeding Habits

Rachana

Note

FOOD AND FEEDING HABITS

The present study dealt with a qualitative examination of the food habits of

the two native species, Tor khtrdree and Hyp.selobirrbir.~ kttrali and two

introduced species, Cyprini~s carpio comrnur~is and Orcochromis

rnossarnbica. It was aimed at studying the overlap of food habits if any,

among these four species of fishes which may create competition for food

An attempt has been made to compare the food habits of Tor khudree

(Mahseer) in the river with that of the lake to see whether there is any

difference in their food habits in the lentic and lotic habitats.

6.1 Tor khudree (Sykes) (Black Mahseer or Deccan

Mahseer)

A comparison of food habits of Mahseer collected from Periyar Lakc and

the Periyar River has shown that the species in both the areas took algae,

plant parts, animal parts and sand particles (Tables 18,19, 20,21,22 & 23).

6.1.1 ALGAE

Specimens from both areas had algae of 3 groups namely Chlorophyceae,

Cyanophyceae and Racillnriophyceae in their gut

I . Chlorophyceae

Riverine Mahseer had only seven genera in their stomach, viz ,

Closferiirm, Stmwastrum, Ne!rium, Spirol~ym, (70s~narii~m, Zygiierna and

Food and Feeding Habits

Ped~a.~trrim, while the species from the lake had tive more genera viz,

Chaetophora, Hyalotheca, Oed(~go~~ittrn, Oocy,~/ri and Peridirrirtm. Of

these, the Closteritrm and ('o.~mrrrcm were found every month in the

riverine specimens While the lake fish had only ('losferr~tm every month

Co.~martum was found in the lake specimens in January, February, March,

September, October and December. Sta~trastrttm was recorded on

January, February, May, August and October in the river specimens hut in

the lake fish it was found in every month except in June, July and

November. Nefritim was found only in May in both the Mahseer.

Spirogyra was observed in May and June in river specimens and in lake

specimens it was observed only in May. Zyptema was found in May and

November in river specimens while in lake specimens it was found in May

and June. In river fish Pediastrum was recorded in January, February,

October, November and December and in lake Mahseer it was found in

January, August, October, November and December. In lake specimens

Chaetophora was noted in November and Hyalolheca in Jaunary,

February, April, July, October, November and December. Oedogor~ium

was present in July and August and Oocy.vris in May and November only

in the lake specimens. Peridiniztm which was present only in lake lor was

observed in February, March, August, and December.

In Mahseer fishes of both the habitats C'ynnophycene was represented by

.\41croc):vris, i.yngbya and Sl~rrulrrm ... M~croc:,srr.s was present i n all months F I S ~ E R Y MANAGEMENT IN PERIYAR'LME 121


in the river fish but in the lake fish it was not found in I:ebruary, March,

April, May, November and December. LytlRbya was present in May and :

November in river specimens while in the lake specimens it was present in

April and May. In both categories, Syir~tlina was observed in November.

3. Bacillariophyceae

In river Mahseer, this group was represented by Achnatl/he.s, Asrerior~ella

and Synedra and in the lake specimens, one more genus was present viz.,

Pinnularia and it was noticed in February, March, April and September.

In river specimens the Aciit~al~thes was observed only in May while in the

lake specimens it was observed in May, June and July. Asreriot~ellr was

present in January, February, May and December, in river 1br but in the

lake 7b it was present in January, May, September, October and

December. Synedra was seen only in May in the river specimens while in

the lake specimens it was seen in May and December.

4 . Unidentified algae

In both the specimens some algae which could not be identified, were

present.

6.1.2 PLANTS

There were noticeable differences between Mahseer in the river and in the

lake in the intake of plant food There were a lot of plant parts in the gut

of specimens collected from the river. These were represented by flowers

fruits, leaves and seeds, of different types of trees. There were some

FISHERY MANAGEMENT IN P E R I Y A ~ C A K E 125

Food and Feeding Habtts

unidentified plant parts also The fruits identified froin the gut contents of

river specimens were those of Mesrra ferrea, k'alena ind~ca. firlrcrurn

Solanzrrn nipurn, Bridelia sp., Glochidion tornenlo.c.rml, Ri.\-chr!fia

javanica, iJolygonrrn chinensis, Ncns arn~~lz.ssma, I~'ic~cs talhoti and an

unidentified Ficus species. Leafy particles noticed in the river Mahseer

were those of lshemirrn q~. (Grass), Rassia malabarica, Rischofia

javanica, Dendrophthoe falcata and an unidentified I*'icrrc. species.

Flowers of trees ike Vaterja indica, Eleocarprrs trrbercrtlal~r.~, Bassia

rnalaharica and Eiczrs ljakela and seed of trees like Olec~ dioica and I.'icus

tjakela were also observed in the river Mahseer.

Lake Mahseer didn't have any of the above mentioned items in their gut

instead they had digested plant parts, unidentified fruits and leaves in

them, that too only for a few months. Digested plant parts were found in

March, June, September and November. Unidentified fruits were present

in October and November and leaf fragments were observed only in

October.

6.1.3 ANIMALS AND ANIMAL PARTS

I. Nematodes

Live nematodes were taken out in the months of January, February, March,

October, November and December from the gut of river Tor and in


March, June, July, August, September, November and December from the

lake Tor which are considered as parasites. /

2. Crabs

Parts of crabs were identified from the gut of Mahseer fishes of both the

river and the lake. It was observed in river specimens in January,

February, March, April, May, August, October and December and in the

lake specimens in April, May, June, September and October.

3. Insect (Order : Dermaptera)

This was observed in specimens of both the habitats. In river specimens it

was noted in November and December and in the lake form in June and

July.

4. Stonefly larva

This was present only in the river Mahseer, in October.

5. Larva of water beetle

This was found only in the river specimens, in December.

6. Water beetle

This beetle was observed in the river Mahseer, in May, September and

October.

7. Chironomus larva

This larva was observed in May, November and December in river

Mahseer and in June and November in lake specimens.


8. Unidentified larva

These were observed in the lake specimens, in July.

9. Unidentified insect paris

In the river Mahseer in May, October and December and in the lake

specimens in January, May, June, September and November certain insect

parts were observed which could not be identified.

10. Mollusca and Glochidion lan~a

Molluscan specimens were identified in May, and November in the gut of

river Mahseer and in January and May in lake specimens. Glochidion

larva was found only in the river specimens, in December.

11. Fishes

Fishes observed in the gut of river Mahseer consisted of

Nemacheilus denisoni (in December), Parlriciosoma daniconitrs (in

December), Barili~rs baker; (in February and September), Garra

mullya (in February, March, April, and September), L,epidopygop.si.s [yprrs

(in May), and Mastacembellis armatus (in August). Unidentified fish parts

were present in June and November . The prey fishes identified in the gut

of lake specimens consisted of Nernacheilus denisor~i (in November) orlly

and Parluciosoma daniconius (in July and November). Unidentified fish

parts were seen in it in all the months except April, May, June and

September.

Food and Feeding Hablls

6.1.4 SAND PARTICLES

Sand particles were seen in the gut of the river Mahseer in January,

February, March, May , October, November and December and in all

months except August and October in lake specimens

FISHERY MANAGEMENT IN PERIYAR LAKE 129

TABLE 18

Algae in the gut of Tor khudree (Sykes) of Periyar Lake

Name I Jan 1 Feb 1 M a r CHLOROPHYCEAE I I I I Chaefophora Closteen unr CosmarIunt I[valorheca .Vetrium Oedogoni urn oocystis Peaiasrrum Peridinium Spirogyra Slaurasmm %.perno CYANOPHYCEAE Lyngbya AfIcrocystis Spirulino BACILLAFUOPHYCEAE A chnan thes .4sterianella PinnularIa Synedra U~deIIMled algae

FISHERY MANAGEMENT IN PERIYAR LAKE

TABLE 19

Plant food in the gut o f Tor khudree (Sykes) of Periyar Lake

Sl.No, Kame Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Julj- Aug Sept Oct NOT D e e : I Digested plant p i s . . . 1 7 Unidentfied fruits . . ; Unidentified leaves .

TABLE 20 Animals /animal parts in the gut of Tor khudree (Sykes) o f Periyar Lake

' SI.No. Name Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun July Aug Sept Od Kov Dec Nematode . . . . . . . . . . . .

' 3. Insect of Order Dermaprera . . 4. Chironomus lama • . 5. Unidentified larva •

6. Unidentified ~nsect parls . • . . ' 7. Mollusc . . FISHES

8 . .Venrocheilus denlsoni . 9. Parluciosoma daniconius . . 10. Unidentified fish p t s . . . . . . . 1 1 . . . . . . . . . . . - Sand particles


TABLE 21

Algae in the gut of Tor k h u h (Sykes) of Periyar River

FISHERY MANAGEMENT IN PERIYAR lAKE

Sl.ho

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 9 10

11 12 13 14

Name I J a n

CHLOROPBYCEAE Closlenunl Cosman urn Nenrum P e d a s m : S p ~ r o g ~ o Sraurasmrm Zygnema CYANOPHYCEAE Lvngbya 16crocyshs Sprmlrna BACILLARIOPHYCEAJC Achnanthes Astenonella Swedra UmdenMied algae

Feb

•

.

Mar Apr ' M a Jun Jul I

Aug

; I

•

-

Sep

: -

Der Oct

: .

No1

; ;

TABLE 22

Plant food in the gut of Tor khudree (Sykes) of Periyar River

SLNo / Name 1 Jan Feb ! Mar 1 Aor 1 Ma

,ifesuaferrea Iblen'a indica EIeocarpus fuberculatus Filicium decjprens Democarpus longana Svzigiurn cumini Bassia molabarica

Oleo dioica Solanurn nigrum Bndelia sp. Glochiaion tomenlosum Bischofia javanica Poilvgonurn chinensis Dendrophrhoe falcatu Ficus ornplissma Ficus talboti Ficus g&ia

Ficus sp. I Unidentified pm.

Symbols Denotes : * -Fruit, fT - Leaf, * - Flower, # - Seed, O - Unidentified

Jun / Jui A

I


*

Nov - fl

*

# * * 8

* *

TABLE 23


Animals /Animal parts in the gut of Tor khudree (SYKES) of Periyar River

Dee . . . . . . •

.

Oct • . •

. FISHES ,bremacheilus denisoni Porluciosoma daniconi us BariBus hakeri

14. G m mullya Leprdomopsis gpus

16. Masracembelus onnorus UnidentLfied fish parts

19. Sand prhcles

SI.No NOY . . . .

Name Nematode Crab Insect of Order Dermaplero Stonefly lan2 Lama of water beetle Water beetle Chironomus l ana Unidenified insect parts Mollusc Glochidion larva (MoUusca)

Jan Feb Mar . . .

I

.

.

. .

•

.

Apr

.

. . .

Ma . . . . • .

Aug

. Sep

.

•

Jun 1 1 Jul


6.2 Hypselobarbrrs kurali Menon & Rema Devi

The gut contents of Hypseloharbus kitrali composed of mostly algae, plant

parts, animal parts and sand particles (Tables 24,25 & 26)

6.2.1 ALGAE

A large number of algae were present in the gut of Hyj~.~eloharbrrs lntrali

represented by Chlorophyceae, C>anophyceae, Hacillario]~hycetw and

Euglenirrae

1. C'hlorophyceae

This consisted of Ankistrode.smu.v, Cludophora, l o t e r i i m , (.'osmariitm,

Hyalotheca, Oedogoniilm, Oocysiis, Pediasirrtm, li.ochiscia, V artraslrum

and I'eridinirtm. Of these (?losterirtm was observed every month and

Sta~rraslrttm in all months except August and June. Ankistrodesmiis, and

Oocyslis were present only in June and July respectively and I'eridirrittm in

October.

2. Cyanophyceae

This was represented by Lyngbya, Microcysfis, Nostoc and Oscillatoria.

Mirocystis was found more frequently than the others. Nostoc was

observed only in December. Lyngbya was seen in March, October and

November and Oscillntoria in August, October and December.



This consisted of Asterionella, Navic~rla and l'innrrlaria. I'ir~rrtilaria was

present more frequently than the other two. Navickltr was seen in January

and October.

4. Eugleninae

This consisted of E~dglena and Trachelomonas. Both were present twice in

the year, Euglena in February and March and 'I'racile1omoilu.s in February

and October.

5. Unidentified algae

There were some algae which could not be identified.

6.2.2 PLANTS

This consisted of seed, fruit and some digested plant parts.

1. Seedy

Seeds of unidentified grass were seen in January, August, September,

October and November.

2. Fruits

Some unidentified fruits were seen in November and December.

3, Digestedplant parts

These were observed in January and October.


1. Rotifers

Rotifers were noticed in March, April, June, July, October and November


2. Nematodes

Live nematodes were seen in the specimens collected in March, August,

September, October and November which could be parasites.

3. Daphnia (Subclass:Branchiopoda, Order : Cladocera)

It was observed in April

4. Cypris (Subclass:Ostrucoda)

This was found in April and September

5. Mosquito larva

This was seen in August, September, October and December

6. Unidentified zooplankton

There were some zooplanktonic forms which could not be identified

7. Unidentified lan~a

Unidentified larvae were seen in April, June, August and September

8. Insectparts

Digested insect'parts which could not be identified were seen in March,


9. Fish parts

This was noticed in January, August and November


This was found every month.


Food and Feeding Hatits

. TABLE 24

Algae in the gut of Hypselobarbus kurali of Periyar Lake


.

.

. .

. .

.

.

px

.

. .

.

. .

.

.

. .

S ~ P

.

.

.

.

. .

act

i . . . . . • . . . .

. .

JuI Aug -Mar

.

.

. .

.

. .

Feb

I . .

. •

. • . .

I $ j m

C=OROPHYCEAE Aniasirodesnius

3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.

12. 13. 14. I S .

16. 17. 18.

19. 20. 21. 22.

. •

. .

a

. .

J w

• . .

.

. .

Apr

I

.

. •

.

• . P

.

.

. .

. •

.

Cladophora Clostenum Cosmanum Hyalotheca Oedogonium Oocystis Pedinsmm Peridinium Staurastrum Trochisda CYANOPHYCEAE Lyngbya .\jlcraqstis Xostoc Oscillatoria BACILLARIOPHYCEAE Asterionella ,liavicula Pinnulano EUGLEhI?NAE Euglena Trachelomonas Unidemfied algae Sand

1 May

•

•

. .

.

. .

.

.

. . .

.

TABLE 25

Plant food in the gut of Hypselobarbus kurali of Periyar Lake

Sl.Ko / Name 1 Jan I Feb Seeds of grass

IFmts , 2 I

TABLE 26

3. I Digested plant parts

Animals /Animal parts in the gut of Hypselobarbus kurali of Periyar Lake

Mar

.

Jan

Apr

. I/

SI.No Feb I M a r Name


M&) / Jun

Rotlfer Nematode

Mosqu~to lan-a Unidentified zooplanldon Unidentified larva Insect p-6 Fish parts

Ma) Jun / Jul

Jul

Oct - . . . . -

Dec I . i

Aug . Sep / Oct No1

I *

Food and Feedlng Habits

6.3 Cyprinus carpio var. communis Linnaeus

The gut contents of ('yprimi.5 carpio var, commrirlrs in Periyar Lake

comprised the algae, plant parts, animal parts and sand grains (Tables 27,

28 gL 29).

6.3.1 ALGAE

This consisted of ('hlorophyccae. Bacillariophycc,ac~ and l<rc~lc~irinuc

1. Chlorophyceae

This was represented by Clostcrizrm, (lladq~hora, Ankistrode.smzrs,

Hyalothcca, Pediastrum, Stmrrashrm and fi~chiscia. Of these,

Closterirrm was found every month. Hyalotheca was observed every

month except January while At~ktstrode.smus was reported only in May.


This group was represented by Achnarllhcs and Pir~~ttlaria. Of these,

Achnanthes was found only in December.

3. Eugleninae

This was represented by only one group i.e., ?i~ache~omor~m which was

observed only in January


There were cefiain groups which could not be identified


6.3.2 PLANTS

Seed, fruit, and digested plant parts which could not be identified were

observed in the gut of C'yprinits carpio.

1. Seed

Seeds of certain grasses which could not be identified were found in July,


2. Fruit

Fruits which could not be identified were observed in July and October

3. Digested plant parts

Digested plant materials were recognised in the specimens collected in

August, September, October and December Partially digested

unidentified grasses were found in October

6.3.3. ANIMALS AND ANLMAL PARTS

1. Rotifers

Rotifers were seen in March, April, May, June, October and Novembel

2. Nematodes

Live nematodes were taken out from the specimens in March, June,

August, October and December which were possibly parasites.

FISHERY MANAGEMENT IN PERIYAR ~AKE 141


3. Cyclops (Sub class : Copepoda, Order : Cyclupuida)

This was recorded only in November

4. Termites and Ants

Both of these were observed in November

5. Unidentified zooplankton

There were certain zoo planktonic groups which could not be identified

and were observed in March. November and December.

6. Unidentified larva

Certain larvae were found in July, August and December which could not

be identified.

7. Mosquito larva

This was observed in August only.

8. Inseci parts

Digested unidentified insect parts were seen in July.

8. Fish

Digested parts of fishes were seen in July and November.


Sand particles were present throughout the year

TABLE 27

Algae in the gut of Cyprinus carpi0 var. communis o f Periyar Lake

SI.No 1 Name / Jan I Feb 1 CEUOROPHYCEAE

Closterium Cladophora .4nksb.odesmus @lotheca Pediasmtm Staurasmtm Trochiscia BASILLARIOPHYCEAE .4chnanfhes Pinnularia EUGLENlNAE Trochelornonus Uni&Iltilied algae Sand

FISHERY M A N A G E M N T IN PERIYAR LAKE

Apr

.

. .

I*

May

.

. .

. ! .

Jun

. .

Sep

. a . .

Jul

. .

.

:

Aug

. .

.

:

Oet

.

. . . I

: .

Nov

. I

Dec

.

.

i

Plant food in the gut of Cyprinus carpio var commnis of Periyar Lake

TABLE 29

Animals/animal parts in the gut of Cyprinus carpio var. communis of Periyar Lake

May

May / Jun 1 Jul 1 Aug

Mar SI.No 1. 2. 3.

SI.No

1. 2. 3. 4. 5 . 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Sep Oct Nov

Jun Apr Jan Name Seeds of grass F r u i ~ ngested plant parts

Name

Rotifer Nematode Cyclops Termites Ants Unidentified zooplankon UNdentified larva Mosquito larva Insect parts Fish parts


Feb Jul . . Aug Sep

. Oct . . .

Nov . Dec

.


6.4 Oreocltromis mossambica (Peters)

The examined gut contents consisted mostly of algae, plant parts, some

animal parts and a lot of detritus (Tables 30,31 & 32).

6.4.1 ALGAE

A major part of the food of Oreochromis mossamhrca consisted of algae

which was represented by ('hloroph~~reae, ( jm~ophyceae,

Baollarrophyceae and Eugleninae.

In this group, (Iladophora. ('lo.~/eriitm, (.'o.sniarir~m, Ankis/rodesm~~s,

Hyalolheca, Oedopnizrrn, Pedia.strrtm, Scetrcde.~rntr.~. S/c~ltraslrtrm,

Troc:hiscia. Zygnema and Peridirii~tm were present. Of these (.'lusterium.

Hyalotheca and Sta~trasirrtm were found every month, major portion being

Closterium. Peridiniiim was found in January, February. March, July,

August and December. Pediastmm was found every month except

November, while C:lndophora and Zypema were found only in

November.

2. Cyanophyceae

This was represented by I,yt~ghya. Microcystis and O~scilla~oric~.

Oscillaloria was found only in November. Microz).stis was observed in


January, February, November and December and 1.yi1~hyu in April , July

and November

This was represented by Achnantheu, AsierioneNu and Nuvic~rlu and

Pini?ulariu. Asterior~ella and Pii~i~t~lariu were found more frequently than

the other two which were present only in one month each viz., Aclii~anihes

in July and Navic~ila in February.

This was represented by Euglena, in November


Algae which could not be identified were seen in all months except

January, February and November.

6.4.2 PLANT PARTS

One unidentified specimen was observed in November.


I. Ceratium (Class : Mastigophora, Order : Dinojlagellata)

This was observed in every month except June, July, Aubwst and October.

A number of Ceratium were observed in the gut contents of specimens

collected in February and March and one specimen collected in



September contained a noticeable number of ( 'c .r . tr~i~irn, tllari other

specimens collected in the same month

2. Rutiferrs

Rotifers were observed in every month.

3. Duphniu (Subclnss : Brwrchiopnda, Order :CluuJuceru)

This was noticed in Febnlary, April and May

4. Chironomus lunu

This was observed only in specimens collected in November

5. Unidentified zooplunkion

There were certain unidentifiable groups observed in February, March and

August.

6. Unidentified lm~nfu

Unidentified larval parts were observed in specirrlens collected in January,

February and March.

7. Fishpurts

Microscopic bone fragments of fishes were observed in February, March,

June and July.

6.4.4 SAND GRAINS

A large amount of organic detritus was present in a specimens, every

month



TABLE 30

- SLNo

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6 . 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.

13. 14. 15.

16. 17. 18. 19.

20. 21. 22.

Algae in the gut of Oreochromis mossambica of Periyar Lake

Name CHLOROPHYCEAE Cladophora CIosteriurn Cosmarium Ankistrodesmus Hvalotheca Oedogonium Pediashum Peridinium Scenedesmus Staurarmm Trochiscia Zygnema CYANOPEYCEAE L~ngbya dficroqstis Oscillalona BACILLARIOPHYCEAJ? dchnanthes d stenonella ,Vm.icula Pinnulana EUGLENINAE Euglena Unidenhfied algae

I , Sand

-

Jan

. .

.

. . . .

.

.

-

--

Feb

. . .

.

. . i I . . .

1 -

Mar

. . . .

.

. .

.

. I

Apr

. .

.

. .

.

.

. . -

- Nov

. .

. . .

. . .

. . .

.

.

. -


TABLE 31

Plant food in the gut of Oreochromis mossambica of Periyar Lake

SI.No / Name / Jan 1 Feb / Mar / Apr I May 1 Jun 1 Jul I Aug 1 Sep 1 Oct 1 Nov 1 Dec

1. I Digested plant part I j .

TABLE 32

Animals / animal parts in the gut of Oredromis mossambica of Periyar Lake


Jun

.

.

SI.No 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Feb . . . .

Name Ceratium Rotifer D a p h Chuonomus lanil Unidentified zooplankton .

Mar

.

. 6.

Jan . . Jul

. Sep . .

' A u g

. Apr . .

s

7. Unidentified larva 1 .

May . • .

Oct

.

Fish parts * / *

Nov Dec . . I

food and feeding habits

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