Murase Noboru

Recently overbrowsing by fish in cultivation of the wakame Undaria pinnatifida has become problematic and the black scraper Thamnaconus modestus is suspected of the feeding damage for the cultured U. pinnatifida as well as a few herbivorous fishes and the Japanese black seabream Acanthopagrus schlegelii, but aspects on feeding behavior and bite scars of the species are extremely limited. We examined characteristics of bite scars left on thalli of the cultured U. pinnatifida by feedng of T. modestus in a tank experiment. The species showed active feeding behavor of the cultured U. pinnatifida and conspicuously consumed juveniles rather than adults. Bite marks left on blades were categorized into three shapes of arc, ellipse and serration and particularly the ellipse-shaped bite mark is characteristic of T. modestus, unknouwn for other overbrowsing fishes. Additionally cut surfaces of those bite marks were edged with irregular gentle concaves. The shape of bite marks on the thalli was thought to be useful for identifying the fish species that caused the feeding damage of the cultured U. pinnatifida.