Abstract
Fish stomachs, 1149 for Tilapia zillii and 1698 for Oreochromis niloticus, were collected from April 1984 till April 1985 from a Nile canal in the Egyptian delta. Both species showed a significant overlap of diet (Schoener's index) among individuals ranging from 12 to 17.9 cm standard length. Outside this range differences in the importance of food of animal origin occurred. Macrophytes were the main food of O. niloticus and aquatic insects of the food of T. zillii. This initial diet overlap may have contributed to irregularity in the increase of full stomachs with increasing length, and to a decline of the stomach index (SI = stomach weight × 100/fish weight) with increase in length in O. niloticus. The stomach of either species correlated significantly with water temperature, but with daily photoperiod in O. niloticus only.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abdel-Malek, S. A., 1972. Food and feeding habits of some Egyptian fishes in Lake Qarun. Part I. Tilapia zillii (Gerv.) B. According to different length groups. Bull. Inst. Oceanogr. Fish. Egypt 2: 203–214.
Alkholy, A. A. & S. A. Abdel-Malek, 1972. Food and feeding habits of some Egyptian fishes in Lake Qarum. Part I: T. zillii (Gerv.). A. According to localities. Bull. Inst. Oceanogr. Fish. Egypt 2: 185–202.
Bowen, S. H., 1982. Feeding, digestion and growth- Qualitative considerations. In R. S. Pullin & R. H. Lowe-McConnel (Eds), The Biology and Culture of Tilapias. ICLARM. Metro Manila, Philippines, 141–156.
Buddington, R. K., 1979. Digestion of an aquatic macrophyte by Tilapia zillii. J. Fish. Biol. 15: 449–456.
Caulton, M. S., 1982. Feeding, metabolism, and growth of tilapias: some quantitative considerations. In R. S. Pullin & R. H. Lowe-McConnel (Eds), The Biology and Culture of Tilapias. ICLARM. Metro Manila, Philippines: 157–180.
Cridland, C. C., 1962. Laboratory experiments on the growth of Tilapia spp. The effect of light and temperature on the growth of T. zillii in aquaria. Hydrobiologia 20: 155–166.
Galat, D. L. & N. Vucinich, 1983. Food partitioning between young of the year of two sympatric Tui Chub Morphs. Trans. am. Fish. Soc. 112: 486–497.
Keast, A. & J. M. Eadie, 1985. Growth depensation in year-0 largemouth Bass: The influence of diet. Trans. am. Fish. Soc. 114: 204–213.
Mathur, D., 1977. Food habits and competitive relationships of the bandfin shiner in Halawakee Creek, Albama. Am. Midland Naturalist 97: 89–100.
Moriarity, D. J. W., J. P. E. C. Darlington, I. G. Dunn, C. M. Moriarity & M. P. Tevlin, 1973. Feeding and grazing in Lake George, Uganda. Proc. r. Soc. Lond. B. 184: 299–319.
Phillippart, J-CL. & J-CL. Ruwet, 1982. Ecology and distribution of tilapias. In R. S. V. Pullin & R. H. Lowe-McConnel (Eds), The Biology and Culture of Tilapias. ICLARM. Metro Manila, Phillipines: 15–60.
Schoener, T. W., 1970. Non-synchronous spatial overlap of lizards in patchy habitats. Ecology 52: 408–418.
Wallace, Jr., R. K., 1981. An assessment of diet-overlap indexes. Trans. am. Fish. Soc. 110: 72–76.
Zaret, T. M. & A. S. Rand, 1971. Competition in tropical stream fishes: support for the competitive exclusion principle. Ecology 51: 336–342.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Khallaf, E.A., Alne-na-ei, A.A. Feeding ecology of Oreochromis niloticus (Linnaeus) & Tilapia Zillii (Gervias) in a Nile canal. Hydrobiologia 146, 57–62 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00007577
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00007577