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Investigating of the food electivity indices of beluga (Huso huso) juveniles in the earthen ponds of the Shahid Marjani Sturgeon Propagation Centre
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Hojatollah Jafaryan *   , Hashem Noferesti , Rahman Patimar , Hossein Adineh |
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Abstract: (4 Views) |
The present study was conducted to determining nutritional requirements of beluga sturgeon (Huso huso) juveniles in the earthen ponds of the Shahid Marjani Sturgeon Hatchery and Culture Center. To this end, the structure and abundance of benthic and zooplankton communities were examined in four selected earthen ponds over a 45-day rearing period across six different time treatments. Each pond had an area of 2 hectares in area, a depth of 2 meters, and a rectangular shape. For the research, sampling of benthos and zooplankton from the water and the digestive tracts of 250 juvenile’s beluga sturgeons was carried out weekly using standard methods. According to the results, the identified planktonic communities included 7 genera from 3 families: Daphnidae, Cyclopidae, and Chironomidae sp. Among the identified genera, Daphnia was the most abundant both in the water (41.73%) and in the digestive tracts of the juvenile fish (77.08%) (p<0.05). The results of the electivity index also indicated that Daphnia (0.97) and Cyclops (0.77) were among the preferred food items for the juvenile fish (p<0.05), while there was no preference for nauplii of Copepods, Rotifers, and Cyclops sp. Among the time treatments, the highest electivity index for Daphniasp. (0.687) was recorded during the third sampling period. The highest electivity index for benthos (Chironomidsp. larvae) was 0.407, observed in the last sampling period. These results indicate a greater preference (positive selection) of juvenile fish for Chironomidsp.larvae (benthos) and a decreasing preference for Daphnia over time. Overall, the findings of this study demonstrate the favorable water and nutritional conditions for juvenile beluga sturgeons at the Shahid Marjani Sturgeon Hatchery and Culture Center.
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| Keywords: Biodiversity, Chironomidae, zooplankton, food electivity, Beluga |
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Type of Study: Applicable |
Subject:
Special
Received: 2026/09/11 | Accepted: 2026/09/27 | Published: 2026/09/27
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