Hábitos alimenticios de la tmcha arcoiris, <i>Oncorhynchus mykiss</i> (Salmoniformes: Salmonidae), en una quebrada altiandina venezolana

Abstract

Monthly stomach context samples of rainbow trout from Mucunután stream (Mérida, Venezuela), were collected from, March 1987 to Febrary 1988 (n= 306). The major dietary components were Ephemeroptera, Trichoptera and Diptera. Baetodes sp. was the most important food item based on numerical composition (43%) and frequency oí' occurrence (88%). When the gravimetric method was used Leptonema sp. was the major dietary componen!. The diet was not a function of sexo The consumed fauna was more similar to the drifr invertebrate fauna than to that of benthos (p < 0.01). The fluctuations on the stomach content paralleled changes of food availability in the environment.