Predation of the invasive freshwater mussel Limnoperna fortunei (Dunker, 1857) (Mytilidae) by the fish Leporinus obtusidens Valenciennes, 1846 (Anostomidae) in the Río de la Plata, Argentina

PENCHASZADEH, PABLO E.; DARRIGRAN, GUSTAVO; ANGULO, CLAUDIA; AVERBUJ, ANDRÉS; BRÖGGER, MARTÍN I.; DOGLIOTTI, ANA; PÍREZ, NICOLÁS

JOURNAL OF SHELLFISH RESEARCH

NATL SHELLFISHERIES ASSOC

Año: 2000 vol. 19 p. 229 - 231

0730-8000

A study of the presence of the freshwater mussel Limnoperna fortunei in the diet of the native fish Leporinus obtusidens was performed in Costanera Norte, Buenos Aires. Fish were collected monthly for a 1-year period to analyze their digestive tracts. From a total of 157 fish collected (20-55 cm total length), 21 had empty digestive tracts. Of the remaining 136 individuals, 98 (72.1%) contained fragments of Limnoperna shells. The mussel represented 14.5% of the stomach content dry weight and 44.4% of the intestinal content dry weight. Limnoperna was present in almost all fish over 30 cm (total length). The largest number of mussels ingested by a Leporinus individual was 77, estimated by mussel beak count. Mussels 15-20 mm in shell length to be the most abundant in Leporinus digestive tract.