ONTOGENIC CHANGES IN GUT DIMENSIONS AND MACROALGAL DIGESTIBILITY IN THE MARINE HERBIVOROUS FISH, APLODACTYLUS-PUNCTATUS

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dc.contributor.authorBENAVIDES, AG
dc.contributor.authorCANCINO, JM
dc.contributor.authorOJEDA, FP
dc.date.accessioned2025-01-21T01:35:44Z
dc.date.available2025-01-21T01:35:44Z
dc.date.issued1994
dc.description.abstract1. Even though herbivorous fish have longer digestive tracts than carnivorous fish, a fact which agrees with optimal digestion theory, the existence of a relation between relative length of the digestive tract and capacity to digest and assimilate algal material has not been experimentally demonstrated. 2. We tested whether an increase in gut dimensions during ontogeny was associated with an increase in capability of fish to digest macroalgae in Aplodactylus punctatus. 3. Total gut length of this temperate marine fish increased from 43 to 237 cm as body length increased from 22 to 42 cm total length (TL). 4. Macroalgae, mainly fronds of the brown kelp Lessonia trabeculata, were the principal item found in their guts. 5. Individuals smaller than 30 cm had a higher proportion of invertebrate biomass in their gut than larger fish (40.6% and 0.3% of total content, respectively). 6. Transit time for Lessonia fronds increased as a function of body size, ranging between 20 h in fish 26.6 cm TL and 52 h in 40.0 cm fish. 7. Apparent digestibility of organic matter and total nitrogen increased as a function of body size from 38% to 80% when feeding on a Lessonia diet, and from 57% to 96% on a Ulva sp. diet. 8. These results explain why small herbivorous fish need to consume animal prey to satisfy their high mass-specific protein demands. 9. This study constitutes the first experimental demonstration in fish that an increase in relative gut length is associated with an increase in the capability to digest macroalgae. This allows larger fish to meet their energetic demands by consuming algae owing to their capability to digest low-quality food.
dc.fuente.origenWOS
dc.identifier.issn0269-8463
dc.identifier.urihttps://repositorio.uc.cl/handle/11534/97715
dc.identifier.wosidWOS:A1994MW76100006
dc.issue.numero1
dc.language.isoen
dc.pagina.final51
dc.pagina.inicio46
dc.revistaFunctional ecology
dc.rightsacceso restringido
dc.subjectASSIMILATION RATES
dc.subjectBODY SIZE
dc.subjectDIETARY SHIFT
dc.subject.ods13 Climate Action
dc.subject.ods14 Life Below Water
dc.subject.ods15 Life on Land
dc.subject.odspa13 Acción por el clima
dc.subject.odspa14 Vida submarina
dc.subject.odspa15 Vida de ecosistemas terrestres
dc.titleONTOGENIC CHANGES IN GUT DIMENSIONS AND MACROALGAL DIGESTIBILITY IN THE MARINE HERBIVOROUS FISH, APLODACTYLUS-PUNCTATUS
dc.typeartículo
dc.volumen8
sipa.indexWOS
sipa.trazabilidadWOS;2025-01-12
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