Terrestrial insects as the main food for freshwater fish in Sungai Kerian tributaries: an implication on habitat conservation
The importance of terrestrial insects as food items for freshwater fish was studied by examining stomach contents of Devario regina (Fowler 1934) and its population parameters at canopied areas of selected tributaries of Sungai Kerian, in the northern state of Peninsular Malaysia. Ninety six percent...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
2017
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| Online Access: | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/11096/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/11096/1/01%20Mohd%20Shafiq%20Zakeyuddin.pdf |
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| author | Mohd Shafiq Zakeyuddin, Mansor Mat Isa, Che Salmah Md Rawi, Amir Shah Ruddin Md Sah, Abu Hassan Ahmad, |
| author_facet | Mohd Shafiq Zakeyuddin, Mansor Mat Isa, Che Salmah Md Rawi, Amir Shah Ruddin Md Sah, Abu Hassan Ahmad, |
| author_sort | Mohd Shafiq Zakeyuddin, |
| building | UKM Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | The importance of terrestrial insects as food items for freshwater fish was studied by examining stomach contents of Devario regina (Fowler 1934) and its population parameters at canopied areas of selected tributaries of Sungai Kerian, in the northern state of Peninsular Malaysia. Ninety six percent (121 out of 126) of the fish stomachs examined contained food materials in the stomachs and the values of percentage of occurrence (%F), percentage numerical (%N) and percentage points (%P) indicated that collected fish ate similar food items in all rivers. Among the food categories, scavenging terrestrial ants (Formicidae) were the most dominant food item, hence the main diet for this species. The Index of Relative Importance (IRI) scores of food items indicated that ants were higher than other food items. This surface water feeder experienced a positive allometric growth (W = aLb) with a b (rate of growth) value of 3.256. Its asymptotic length, growth constant and growth performance index represented this species with a short life-span (L∞ = 10.90 cm, K = 1.20 year-1, φ’ = 2.15, tmax = 3 year, respectively) and had higher natural mortality (M = 2.40 year-1) than fishing mortality (F = 0.35 year-1) while the fish stock was underexploited (E = 0.13). The finding of this study indicated the importance of terrestrial ants as a food source that support excellent growth of D. regina and the need to conserve riparian trees along river banks to provide allocthonous materials and habitats for the ants. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-15T00:05:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | oai:generic.eprints.org:11096 |
| institution | Universiti Kebangasaan Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-15T00:05:03Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publisher | Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | oai:generic.eprints.org:110962017-12-18T08:22:49Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/11096/ Terrestrial insects as the main food for freshwater fish in Sungai Kerian tributaries: an implication on habitat conservation Mohd Shafiq Zakeyuddin, Mansor Mat Isa, Che Salmah Md Rawi, Amir Shah Ruddin Md Sah, Abu Hassan Ahmad, The importance of terrestrial insects as food items for freshwater fish was studied by examining stomach contents of Devario regina (Fowler 1934) and its population parameters at canopied areas of selected tributaries of Sungai Kerian, in the northern state of Peninsular Malaysia. Ninety six percent (121 out of 126) of the fish stomachs examined contained food materials in the stomachs and the values of percentage of occurrence (%F), percentage numerical (%N) and percentage points (%P) indicated that collected fish ate similar food items in all rivers. Among the food categories, scavenging terrestrial ants (Formicidae) were the most dominant food item, hence the main diet for this species. The Index of Relative Importance (IRI) scores of food items indicated that ants were higher than other food items. This surface water feeder experienced a positive allometric growth (W = aLb) with a b (rate of growth) value of 3.256. Its asymptotic length, growth constant and growth performance index represented this species with a short life-span (L∞ = 10.90 cm, K = 1.20 year-1, φ’ = 2.15, tmax = 3 year, respectively) and had higher natural mortality (M = 2.40 year-1) than fishing mortality (F = 0.35 year-1) while the fish stock was underexploited (E = 0.13). The finding of this study indicated the importance of terrestrial ants as a food source that support excellent growth of D. regina and the need to conserve riparian trees along river banks to provide allocthonous materials and habitats for the ants. Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2017-06 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/11096/1/01%20Mohd%20Shafiq%20Zakeyuddin.pdf Mohd Shafiq Zakeyuddin, and Mansor Mat Isa, and Che Salmah Md Rawi, and Amir Shah Ruddin Md Sah, and Abu Hassan Ahmad, (2017) Terrestrial insects as the main food for freshwater fish in Sungai Kerian tributaries: an implication on habitat conservation. Sains Malaysiana, 46 (6). pp. 833-843. ISSN 0126-6039 http://www.ukm.my/jsm/malay_journals/jilid46bil6_2017/KandunganJilid46Bil6_2017.html |
| spellingShingle | Mohd Shafiq Zakeyuddin, Mansor Mat Isa, Che Salmah Md Rawi, Amir Shah Ruddin Md Sah, Abu Hassan Ahmad, Terrestrial insects as the main food for freshwater fish in Sungai Kerian tributaries: an implication on habitat conservation |
| title | Terrestrial insects as the main food for freshwater fish in Sungai Kerian tributaries: an implication on habitat conservation |
| title_full | Terrestrial insects as the main food for freshwater fish in Sungai Kerian tributaries: an implication on habitat conservation |
| title_fullStr | Terrestrial insects as the main food for freshwater fish in Sungai Kerian tributaries: an implication on habitat conservation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Terrestrial insects as the main food for freshwater fish in Sungai Kerian tributaries: an implication on habitat conservation |
| title_short | Terrestrial insects as the main food for freshwater fish in Sungai Kerian tributaries: an implication on habitat conservation |
| title_sort | terrestrial insects as the main food for freshwater fish in sungai kerian tributaries: an implication on habitat conservation |
| url | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/11096/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/11096/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/11096/1/01%20Mohd%20Shafiq%20Zakeyuddin.pdf |