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Abstract

The identification of trophic levels (TROPHs) is an essential component for the management of fisheries resources as well as for quantifying the ecosystem effects of fishing. In this paper we identified trophic level of twenty commercially important fishes collected from coastal waters of Pulau Perhentian, Terrenganu, Malaysia. Trophic levels were analyzed based on the direct examination of fish stomachs and categorized as herbivores fed on vegetable materials and small crustaceans, and carnivores fed on teleost, crustaceans, mollusks, cephalopods, echinoderms and annelids. The estimated mean trophic levels for herbivorous fishes were 2.11 ± 0.04 and carnivorous fishes were 3.67 ± 0.33. The diets of both herbivorous and carnivorous fishes did not differ significantly between sizes and sexes. The findings of this study will be useful for ecological modeling for a better representation of the trophic flows associated with large medium and small trawl fishes not only Perhentian coastal waters of Malaysia but also in neighboring countries.

Biography

K.D. Simon graduated from University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh in 2004 with a B.Sc. Hons. and majored in Fisheries. Then he pursed his M.Sc. and Ph.D. at National University of Malaysia (UKM). He received his Ph.D. in Marine Science in 2010. His research focused on Population growth, Taxonomy, Feeding biology, Reproductive biology, Resiliency behavior, & Digestion physiology of selected resilience fishes in Malaysian waters. In 2010 he joined as a postdoc fellow in National university of Malaysia. In 2011 he joined as a Senior Lecturer at Faculty of Science and Technology in National university of Malaysia.