Ecology Summary - Gnathanodon speciosus

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Main Ref.	Honebrink, R., 1990
Remarks	Occur in inshore waters of the continental shelf (Ref. 7300); in coral reefs (Ref. 58534); and in deep lagoon and seaward reefs where they feed by rooting for crustaceans, other invertebrates in the sand and also on small fishes. Piscivore (Ref. 57615). Small juveniles live among the tentacles of jellyfish (Ref. 9710). Coastal species that inhabits coral and rocky reefs. Diurnal bottom feeder that hunts in groups. Feeds on crabs, shrimp, molluscs, and small fishes (Ref. 9773).

Main Ref.

Honebrink, R., 1990

Remarks

Occur in inshore waters of the continental shelf (Ref. 7300); in coral reefs (Ref. 58534); and in deep lagoon and seaward reefs where they feed by rooting for crustaceans, other invertebrates in the sand and also on small fishes. Piscivore (Ref. 57615). Small juveniles live among the tentacles of jellyfish (Ref. 9710). Coastal species that inhabits coral and rocky reefs. Diurnal bottom feeder that hunts in groups. Feeds on crabs, shrimp, molluscs, and small fishes (Ref. 9773).

Aquatic zones / Water bodies

	Marine - Neritic	Marine - Oceanic	Brackishwater	Freshwater
Marine zones / Brackish and freshwater bodies	supra-littoral zone littoral zone sublittoral zone	epipelagic mesopelagic epipelagic abyssopelagic hadopelagic	estuaries/lagoons/brackish seas mangroves marshes/swamps	rivers/streams lakes/ponds caves exclusively in caves

Highighted items on the list are where Gnathanodon speciosus may be found.

Habitat

Substrate	Benthic; Hard Bottom: rocky;
Substrate Ref.	Al-Abdessalaam, T.Z.S., 1995
Special habitats	Coral Reefs: reef flats; lagoons;
Special habitats Ref.	Dominici-Arosemena, A. and M. Wolff, 2006

Associations

Ref.
Associations	schooling;
Associated with	It is noted for its behavior to closely swim around sharks and other large fish, but also following divers (Ref. 10361) to gain protection from likely predators (Ref. 9710).
Association remarks	Forms schools (Ref. 10361) .
Parasitism

Feeding

Feeding type	mainly animals (troph. 2.8 and up)
Feeding type Ref.	Honebrink, R., 1990
Feeding habit	hunting macrofauna (predator)
Feeding habit Ref.	Honebrink, R., 1990

Trophic Level(s)

Estimation method	Original sample		Unfished population		Remark
Estimation method	Troph	s.e.	Troph	s.e.	Remark
From diet composition
From individual food items	4.03	0.52			Trophic level estimated from a number of food items using a randomized resampling routine.
Ref.

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