Barnentos et al Differences in the feeding patterns of Sebastes capensis 



493 



IRI), and the megalop larvae of Pseudocorvstes sicarius 

 il.78%im}. 



At the phylum level, the IRIs indicated that the most 

 important prey group was Arthropoda (96.6%) followed 

 by Chordata (2.93%), Mollusca (0.07%), and a low rep- 

 resentation of Annelida (0.029%). 



There were no differences between the sexes in the 

 diet of S. capensis. Males and females both ate similar 

 proportions of prey items (G = 3.3; P>0.05). Neither sex 

 was observed to show ontogenetic dietary changes: fish 

 of the 19-25 cm size class, and fish between 26 and 38 

 cm TL showed no significant differences in prey items 

 (G=2.27; P>0.05). On the other hand, there were signifi- 

 cant differences in the diet of S. capensis among loca- 

 tions (x- = 44.94, P<0.05). The correspondence analysis 

 (Fig. 2) indicated that fish from Antofagasta, Coquimbo, 

 and Valparaiso fed on similar prey items; whereas the 

 fishes from Talcahuano and Valdivia fed mainly on 

 other prey (Mysidacea spp. ). Fish from the Aysen chan- 



nels and the Argentinia coast showed qualitatively dif- 

 ferent diets. The diet of fish from the Aysen channels 

 was characterized by the absence of those prey (e.g., 

 R. typiis; P. desmarestii) recorded in the fish from the 

 northern locations. On the other hand, fish from the 

 Argentina coast, fed on prey that are distributed only 

 in higher latitudes (e.g., Miinida spp.). 



Table 2 summarizes the IRI % for each prey item in 

 each location. 



Antofagasta In this location, 29 specimens had stomach 

 contents, from which 13 prey items were identified. The 

 most important prey was the crab P. desmarestii (48.68% 

 IRI), followed by the rock shrimp, R. typus (40.76% IRI), 

 and low occurrences of shrimp Synalpheus spinifrons 

 (4.01% IRI) and rock crab C. setosus (1.17% IRI). 



Coquimbo Only 10 types of prey were identified from 

 this location. The most predominant was R. typus (92.15% 



