Item Details

Title: A CONTRIBUTION TO THE STUDY OF THE FOOD OF SIX CYPNIOFISHES IN THREE AREAS OF THE LAKE VICTORIA BASIN, EAST AFRICA

Date Published: 1979
Author/s: John. S. BALIRWA
Data publication:
Funding Agency :
Copyright/patents/trade marks:
Journal Publisher: Hydrobiologia
Affiliation: East African Freshwater Fisheries Research Organization (EAFFRO) Jinja, P.O. Box 343, JINJA, Uganda
Keywords: Feeding habits, Cyprinidae, Barbus, Lake Victoria

Abstract:

An account of the food of six species of cyprinid fish from the Lake Victoria basin is given. All the species studied possess tubular stomachs and analysis was carried out on entire guts, the relative importance of the various dietary items being assessed by the frequency occurrence method. Results indicate that these species are omnivorous, and their food ranges from debris, diatoms through algae, insect larvae to molluscs. Comparison of the food of BOI'bus spp. from the lake and river shows that riverine fish ingest more plant material than lake fish.