Feeding habit and diet composition of Glossogobius aureus Akihito & Meguro, 1975 in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta

Abstract

Glossogobius aureus (Gobiiformes: Gobiidae) is a target fish and widely distributed in the Mekong Delta, from fresh to brackish waters. However, knowledge on its food and feeding ecology is scarce. Therefore, this research was carried out in four sampling sites along the estuarine of Hau River in order to fill this information gap. A total of 742 individual fish was collected monthly using trawl nets from January to December 2020. A combined analysis of the fullness index and Costello graph suggested that this fish species displayed high feeding intensity. The results revealed that G. aureus is a carnivore and its food composition comprised Acetes spp., Actinopterygii, zooplankton, and other preys (e.g. snails and detritus). Acetes spp. is the main food of this species. The diet composition varied with sites but not genders, fish sizes, and seasons. Acetes spp., Actinopterygii and other preys contributed to the spatial variation of food composition. The findings revealed knowledge about the fish feeding ecology, which may propose suitable foods for its aquaculture development.

Keywords

• Glossogobius aureus
• Diet composition
• Carnivore
• Feeding intensity
• Fullness index
• Vietnam