A Novel Approach to Evaluate Feeding by Mixed Cyprinid Species in a Chinese Integrated Fish Culture Pond Using Measurements of Chlorophyll Derivatives and Photosynthesis in Gut Contents

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Abstract
Chlorophyll derivatives and algal photosynthesis in the guts of five reared cyprinid species were studied to quantify feeding by cyprinids in a Chinese integrated fish culture pond. Pigment analysis identified organic detritus that had been overlooked by microscopic observation. The high ratios of Chl b/Chl a and of pheophorbide a/Chl a were good indicators of herbivory on aquatic plants and zooplanktivory, respectively. High photosynthetic rates in faeces indicated herbivory on phytoplankton. Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) fed mostly on aquatic plants. Blunt snout bream (Megalobrama amblyocephala) selected plants, but also fed on filamentous algae and zooplankton. Silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) fed on phytoplankton most frequently among the five carp species examined, but also utilized zooplankton and amorphous detritus, probably originating from plant fragments. Bighead (Aristichthys nobilis) and crucian carp (Carassius auratus) utilized zooplankton and plant fragments. Planktivorous production in this pond was partly supported by a large amount of plant debris, derived from the faeces of grass-eating cyprinids and nourished by microorganisms in the pond water.

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