Diel patterns in space use, food and metabolic activity of Galaxias maculatus (Pisces: Galaxiidae) in the littoral zone of a shallow Patagonian lake

MILANO, DANIELA; AIGO, JUANA; MACCHI , PATRICIO J.

AQUATIC ECOLOGY

SPRINGER

Lugar: Berlin; Año: 2013 vol. 47 p. 277 - 290

1386-2588

We detected that Galaxias maculatus exhibits a pattern where metabolic activity increases after sunrise and peaks between noon and sunset, but this species feeds in the afternoon, until several hours after sunset. Moreover, we showed that G. maculatus is observed in the littoral zone during the day, disappears completely from this zone after sunset and returns at sunrise. Littoral prey species are common in the diet of G. maculatus, but this study showed that pelagic prey are also present during twilight and night hours in smaller individuals (