FEEDING HABITS OF SOLES; SOLEA VULGARIS, SOLEA AEGJ:7'TIACA, SOLEA IMPAR AND SOLEA KLEINI: FROMABU­KIR BAY, SOUTHEASTERN MEDITERRANEAN SEA, EGYPT.

FEEDING HABITS OF SOLES; SOLEA VULGARIS, SOLEA

AEGJ:7’TIACA, SOLEA IMPAR AND SOLEA KLEINI: FROMABU­KIR BAY, SOUTHEASTERN MEDITERRANEAN SEA, EGYPT.

BY
S. M. ALLAM*
*National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries. Kayed-Bey,

Alexandria.

Keywords: Dietary overlap;’ Feeding habits; Solea species.

ABSTRACT
The feeding habits offour species ofsoles: Solea vulgaris Quensed,
1806: Soleo aegyptiaca Chabanaud, 1927; Solea impar Bennett, 1831;
Solea kleini Bonaparte, 1833; from Abu-Kir Bay, Southeastern
Mediterranean Sea, Egypt; were studied over one year. The stomach
contents were analyzed by means offrequency ofoccurrence, numerical
percentage, volume index, preponderance index and Schoener index.
Results of these analyses, showed that crustaceans and molluscs were
the most frequent exploited prey for all Solea species. Therefore,
bival.ves and gastropods were the main preferable prey in the diet ofS.
vulgaris and S. kleini respectively, while decapods were the most
preferable food item in the diet of s. impar and S. aegyptiaca. These
results and the values of dietary overlap suggested a relatively little
competition for food resources between the four Solea species.
Variations in the abundance ofdifferentfood items with fish length
and season were studied for the different So/ea species (except S.
kleini). Results also, showed that the feeding activity of soles has
continued during the spawning season.