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Feeding habits of Persian sturgeon (Acipenser persicus) jfingerling in the Tajan River estuary, Mazandaran Province
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Mohammad Ali Afraei Bandpei *   , Rahime Rahmati , Hassan Nasrolahzade Saravi , Behzad Rahnama , Amir Reza Afraei Bandpei , Eisa Hajirad Kochak |
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Abstract: (25 Views) |
This research was conducted with the aim of determining the food indices and dominant prey of Iranian sturgeon (Acipenser persicus) released fingerling fish in the estuary of the Tajan River in 2022. Sampling was carried out using a beach seine with a mesh size of 5 millimeters. A total of 46 fingerling of A. persicus were caught. The captured fingerling had an average length (TL) of 5.82 ± 0.91 cm and an average weight of 4.31±0.71 gr. Identified food items included phytoplankton, zooplankton, and zoobenthos groups. There was a significant difference in diet items within the gastrointestinal contents (p<0.05). The feeding intensity index (GaSI) averaged 25.13±13.7, with a minimum of 3.3 and a maximum of 50.1, indicating a significant correlation between feeding intensity and TL (p<0.05). The occurrence frequency index (FI) showed that copepod branch was the main food source, with a prevalence of 50.1%, and Cladocera with 33.3% was a secondary food in the gastrointestinal contents. Other organisms, including phytoplankton and zoobenthos, were rare food items. The Vacuity index (VI) indicated that juvenile fish are continuously active at this life stage, thus their intestines were not empty. The similarity percentage of food items revealed that the groups Cladocera and Copepoda had the highest similarity at 79.6%, followed by Chironomus and Rotifera at 80.8%. Other food items ranked below. The important food index (ISI) showed that Copepoda was identified as an important food source, accounting for 46.8% in the gastrointestinal contents. In conclusion, Persian sturgeon (A. persicus) fingerling at this age has a planktivorous and feed mostly on zooplankton.
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| Keywords: Acipenser persicus, Fingerling, Feedin habits, abundance, Tajan River, Mazandaran |
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Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
Special
Received: 2025/06/8 | Accepted: 2025/06/27 | Published: 2025/09/26
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