Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
This study examined the feeding ecology of Lateolabrax japonicus (Cuvier, 1828) in Korean coastal waters, focusing on variations in diet composition across the reproductive seasons and size classes of the fish. The stomach contents of 310 individuals were analyzed, and prey biomass was quantified and standardized to assess multivariate dietary pattern analyses. The primary prey of L. japonicus were teleost fishes, exhibiting a relative importance index of 92.8%. In the Teleostei prey group, Engraulis japonicus was the most dominant. Across all reproductive seasons and size classes, the diets were strongly dominated by teleost fishes, confirming the species’ position as a specialized piscivorous predator. The contribution of Teleostei increased from 85.2% during the non-spawning season to 96.2% during the spawning season, whereas that of Caridea shrimps declined markedly. Ontogenetic shifts were evident, with small individuals (40 cm) relying more on Caridea shrimps and larger individuals exhibiting near-exclusive piscivory, reflecting size-dependent foraging consistent with energetic optimization. DistLM revealed that size class, reproductive season, total length and month significantly influenced dietary variation ( P 0.05), whereas no significant differences were detected between sexes. Overall, these findings demonstrate that L. japonicus maintains a relatively stable trophic niche, with minor temporal variation driven primarily by changes in the relative contribution of crustacean prey, highlighting its ecological role as a top-level piscivore and providing valuable insights for ecosystem-based management of coastal fish populations.
Kang et al. (Mon,) studied this question.