St John et al.: Diet of Plectropomus leopardus on the Great Barrier Reef 
185 
Table 2 
Stomach contents of P. leopard us caught by the two fish- 
ing methods. Plect/'opomus leopardus are classified into 
four groups by the contents of their stomachs: natural 
prey only, natural prey and bait, bait only, and no contents 
(empty). Number of P. leopardus and the percentage of the 
total catch are recorded for each group. 
Fishing method 
Stomach contents 
Line 
Spear 
Number 
% 
Number 
% 
Natural prey only 
36 
42.4 
342 
58.2 
Natural prey and bait 
2 
2.3 
Bait only 
14 
16.5 
5 
0.8 
Empty 
33 
38.8 
240 
40.9 
Total 
85 
587 
Table 3 
Number of prey fish, crustaceans, and cephalopods found in P. 
leopardus collected from Nathan, Wardle, Potter, and Noreaster 
Reefs. Numbers of predators with natural prey in their stom- 
achs and empty stomachs in each sample are included. 
Reefs 
Prey groups 
Nathan 
Potter 
Wardle 
Noreaster 
Total 
Fish 
121 
126 
118 
103 
468 
Crustaceans 
2 
2 
6 
3 
13 
Cephalopods 
3 
2 
3 
8 
Unidentified 
2 
1 
2 
1 
6 
Total prey 
125 
132 
128 
110 
495 
Empty 
stomachs 
85 
76 
53 
59 
273 
P. leopardus 
with prey 
92 
102 
100 
86 
380 
Table 4 
Number of prey per family identified in the fish diet of P. leopardus collected from Nathan, Wardle, Potter, and Noreaster Reefs. 
Total numbers of prey in families are included and expressed as percentages of the total diet. Total numbers of identified fish, 
unidentified fish, families of prey, and predator individuals are included. Small-size schooling fishes are underlined. 
Reefs open to fishing Reefs closed to fishing 
Prey families 
North 
(Nathan) 
South 
(Potter) 
North 
(Wardle) 
South 
(Noreaster) 
Total 
Number 
% 
Pomacentridae 
12 
9 
9 
17 
47 
25.3 
Labridae 
9 
8 
9 
11 
37 
19.9 
Clupeidae 
11 
9 
6 
5 
31 
16.6 
Caesionidae 
9 
1 
2 
12 
6.4 
Synodontidae 
4 
3 
1 
2 
10 
5.4 
Scaridae 
4 
2 
2 
8 
4.3 
Blenniidae 
1 
1 
5 
7 
3.8 
Acanthuridae 
2 
3 
1 
6 
3.2 
Apogonidae 
1 
5 
6 
3.2 
Serranidae 
3 
1 
1 
5 
2.1 
Engraulidae 
2 
1 
3 
1.6 
Fistulariidae 
1 
1 
1 
3 
1.6 
Gobiidae 
2 
2 
1.1 
Balistidae 
1 
i 
0.5 
Creedidae 
1 
i 
0.5 
Lutjanidae 
1 
i 
0.5 
Monacanthidae 
1 
i 
0.5 
Nemipteridae 
1 
i 
0.5 
Platycephalidae 
1 
i 
0.5 
Plesiopidae 
1 
i 
0.5 
Scorpaenidae 
1 
i 
0.5 
Siganidae 
1 
i 
0.5 
Identified fish 
55 
52 
39 
40 
186 
Unidentified fish 
66 
74 
79 
63 
282 
Number of families 
15 
12 
14 
7 
22 
No. of P. leopardus with prey 
92 
102 
100 
86 
380 
