Diet Selectivity of Introduced Flathead Catfish in Coastal Rivers
Abstract
In two coastal North Carolina rivers (Contentnea Creek and the Northeast Cape Fear River), we found the food habits of introduced flathead catfish Pylodictis olivaris to be primarily piscivorous, which could restructure or suppress native fish communities through direct predation. Fish or crayfish contributed more than 50% of the stomach contents by percent occurrence, percent by number, and percent by weight in both rivers during each of 2 years. Significant differences in diet composition (percent by number) were found between rivers and between years in the Northeast Cape Fear River but not between years within Contentnea Creek. Chesson's selectivity index values and trends in relative abundances of fish availability relative to those occurring in the diet suggest that flathead catfish feeding is generally random, indicating that these introduced flathead catfish do not selectively feed on prey species with which they did not coevolve. Our research represents the first assessment of prey selectivity by an introduced ictalurid population and provides evidence of the potential impact on native fish communities through their piscivorous food habits.
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Such predation strategies likely aid invasive species during establishment in novel environments where the food base may differ from the species' natural range, providing an abundance of diverse potential prey resources that would only rarely be limiting.
“Such predation strategies likely aid invasive species during establishment in novel environments where the food base may differ from the species' natural range (Grabowska & Grabowski 2005, Pine et al. 2005), providing an abundance of diverse potential prey resources that would only rarely be limiting (Grabowska & Grabowski 2005, Rehage et al. 2005).”
From Diet of invasive lionfish on hard bottom reefs of the Southeast USA: insights from stomach contents and stable isotopes (2011) · cites this paper as Pine et al. 2005
The flexibility across years in prey consumption and apparent generalist feeding strategy observed for lionfish in this study is consistent with predatory strategies documented for other invasive fishes, including racer goby Neogobius gymnotrachelus and flathead catfish Pylodictis olivaris.
“The flexibility (across years) in prey consumption and apparent generalist feeding strategy observed for lionfish in this study is consistent with predatory strategies documented for other invasive fishes, including racer goby Neogobius gymnotrachelus and flathead catfish Pylodictis olivaris (Grabowska & Grabowski 2005, Pine et al. 2005).”
From Diet of invasive lionfish on hard bottom reefs of the Southeast USA: insights from stomach contents and stable isotopes (2011) · cites this paper as Pine et al. 2005
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References 16 · Cited by 56
- Authors
- Pine, W. E., Kwak, T. J., Waters, D. S., & Rice, J. A.
- Affiliations
- North Carolina State University (US)
- United States Geological Survey (US)
- Corresponding author
- Pine, William E.
- Venue
- Transactions of the American Fisheries Society
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2005-07
- Volume
- 134
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 901-909
- ISSN
- 0002-8487 (ISSN-L)
- 1548-8659
- OpenAlex
- W2120642495
- Cited by
- 56
- References
- 16
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 1 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 2.53
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (publishedVersion)
- NCSU Libraries Repository (North Carolina State University Libraries) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Nature and Landscape Conservation › Fish Ecology and Management Studies
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Aquatic Science › Fish Biology and Ecology Studies
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Nature and Landscape Conservation › Fish biology, ecology, and behavior
- Keywords
- flathead catfish, Pylodictis olivaris, introduced species, diet selectivity, piscivory, prey selectivity, coastal rivers, stomach contents
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