Aspects of the biology and life history of largespot pompano, Trachinotus botla, in South Africa

Parker, Daniel; Booth, Anthony J

Title: Aspects of the biology and life history of largespot pompano, Trachinotus botla, in South Africa
Creator: Parker, Daniel
Creator: Booth, Anthony J
Date Issued: 2015
Date: 2015
Type: text
Type: article
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/123798
Identifier: vital:35499
Identifier: https://doi.10.1071/MF14029
Description: Trachinotus botla is an important recreational surf zone-dependent fish species distributed in the Indo-west Pacific from South Africa to Australia. In South Africa it is restricted to the northern KwaZulu-Natal coast. Biological investigations revealed that it is a fast growing species that attains a maximum age of, 7 years. Males and females sexually matured in their third year. It has a protracted summer spawning season with evidence of serial spawning behaviour. T. botla is an opportunistic predator with a generalist diet, with fish feeding on a wide variety of prey items particularly those that are temporally ‘superabundant’. Small fish fed predominantly on copepods and terrestrial insects, whereas larger fish consumed bivalves and crabs. Teleosts, primarily engraulids, were important components to the diet of fish of all sizes. An ontogenetic dietary shift was observed just after sexual maturity (300-mm fork length) that is possibly linked to a change in habitat preference with larger fish foraging on deeper reefs.
Format: 9 pages
Format: pdf
Language: English
Relation: Marine and Freshwater Research
Relation: Parker, D. and Booth, A.J., 2015. Aspects of the biology and life history of largespot pompano, Trachinotus botla, in South Africa. Marine and Freshwater Research, 66(3), pp.247-255
Relation: Marine and Freshwater Research volume 66 number 3 247 255 2015 1323-1650
Rights: Marine and Freshwater Research
Rights: Use of this resource is governed by the terms and conditions of the CSIRO Publishing Copyright Statement (http://www.publish.csiro.au/journals/copyright)

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Booth, Anthony John (Prof)

Parker, Daniel M (Prof)

SDG 14. Life Below Water

RU Department of Ichthyology and Fisheries Science

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