What drives the cannibalism of Trichiurus lepturus (Linnaeus, 1758) in the coastal area of southeastern Brazil (21-22ºS)?

Abstract

The present study was aimed to investigate the causes that drive the cannibalism of the teleost fish, Trichiurus lepturus, in the coastal area of southeastern Brazil (21-22°S) whereas the feeding behaviour was recorded through analyzing of the stomach contents. In this area, the population density of this predator fish is high, but there are many food resources available. Therefore, the highest cannibalism rate couldn’t be expected. However, conspecifics intake is nutritionally more advantageous for the predator compared with other prey species, once they provide high protein content and caloric value. In this sense, the quality of food resources drives the cannibalism of this species locally.