Research articles
ScienceAsia 40 (2014): 317-322 |doi:
10.2306/scienceasia1513-1874.2014.40.317
Length-weight relationship and trophic level of hard-tail scad Megalaspis cordyla
Simon Kumar Dasa,b,*, Moumita Dea, Mazlan Abd. Ghaffarb,c
ABSTRACT: Megalaspis cordyla popularly known as hard-tail scad or torpedo scad is a commercially important fish in Malaysia. The present study describes the length-weight relationship and trophic level of M. cordyla collected from the coastal waters of Tanjung Sepat, Selangor, Malaysia from December 2010 to November 2011. A total of 375 specimens ranging from 17.3–37.5 cm total length and 52.40–451.12 g body weight were analysed in this study. The growth form meant that the allometric coefficient b of the length-weight relationships was less than three, suggesting negative allometric growth for males (b=2.65), females (b=2.77), and combined sex (b=2.64). The regression coefficient was not significantly different between the sexes. Stomach content analysis revealed that both males and females fed mostly on teleost (90%, 88%) followed by crustaceans (7%, 8%) and molluscs (4%, 4%), respectively. The estimated mean trophic level for the males and females were 3.67±0.04 and 3.84±0.05, respectively, indicating that they are largely carnivorous. In this study we found less diverse diets compared to previous reports, which might be indicative of anthropogenic disturbance to their food chain and ecosystem.
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| a |
School of Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, University Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor, D.E., Malaysia |
| b |
Marine Ecosystem Research Centre (EKOMAR), Faculty of Science and Technology, University Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor D.E., Malaysia |
| c |
Institute of Tropical Aquaculture, University of Malaysia Terengganu, 21030, Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia |
* Corresponding author, E-mail: skdas_maa@yahoo.com
Received 20 Feb 2014, Accepted 26 Sep 2014
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