Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
KSU TARIM VE DOGA DERGISI-KSU JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE AND NATURE, cilt.21, sa.5, ss.765-771, 2018 (ESCI)
In this study, it was aimed to characterize the feeding and diet composition of the most common pelagic chaetognath Flaccisagitta enflata. Zooplankton samples were collected using a WP-2 zooplankton net (200 mu m) at three stations in the Iskenderun Bay in October 2016, December 2016 and March 2017. F. enflata was the most abundant chaetognath in all samples and its proportion varied from 42 to 94%. Younger stages (I and II) dominated the population of F. enflata. In total, 1663 specimens were examined, but only 185 contained prey in their guts. The total food-containing ratio and the number of prey items for this chaetognath species were 11% and 0.1, respectively. These values varied for different maturity stages. Most food items were unidentified due to digestion. Copepods were the main food resource (36.8%) for the species. Cannibalism was also observed.