Characteristics of bite scars observed in kelp forests of Lessoniaceae denuded by short-term foraging damages of the herbivorous fish Siganus fuscecens

短期間で発生したカジメ科海藻の磯焼けにおけるアイゴの食痕の特徴

Characteristics of bite scars observed in kelp forests of Lessoniaceae denuded by short-term foraging damages of the herbivorous fish Siganus fuscecens

Creators Noda Mikio

Creators Kinoshita Junji

Creators Tanada Norio

Creators Murase Noboru

We examined characteristics of bite scars left on thalli collected from three Ecklonia cava communities that were denuded by heavy browsing of Siganus fuscescens for a short period. In addition, leaflost Eisenia bicyclis that occurred in a Eisenia and Sargassum-mixed seaweed bed were compared betweenabrupt occurrence of leaf-lost thalli and usual constant browsing by S. fuscescens. Most of thalli collected from the three Ecklonia cava communities that were heavily browsed were stub-like with bare medullary layers of stems which were forced to be exposed by heavy browsing. A lot of scratch-like fine lines and/or linear grooves, the jaw tooth marks of S. fuscescens, were found in the stems of heavily browsed thalli and the whole surface of the stems were often covered with a great number of those bite scars. Characteristics of bite scars left on thalli of Lessoniaceae are discussed in relation to heavy browsing by a large school of adult S. fuscescens.

[ISSN]0370-9361