290 
NOAA 
National Marine 
Fisheries Service 
Abstract— From 2008 through 2010, 
the diets of 3 sciaenid species, the 
weakfish ( Cynoscion regalis), south- 
ern kingfish ( Menticirrhus america- 
nus), and Atlantic croaker (Micropo- 
gonias undulatus), were examined. 
Stomach contents were identified, 
enumerated, and weighed to deter- 
mine the diet composition and feed- 
ing strategy of each species and diet 
overlap among species. Bony fishes 
were the most frequently consumed 
prey of weakfish. Decapods, nonde- 
capod crustaceans, and polychaetes 
were the most commonly consumed 
prey of southern kingfish and Atlan- 
tic croaker. Some individuals of all 
species consumed specific prey types 
and others consumed varying prey 
types; however, specialization was 
a more common trait for weakfish 
than for the other 2 species. Weak- 
fish diets had minimal overlap with 
diets of the other 2 species; however, 
the Morisita-Horn index indicated 
considerable overlap between south- 
ern kingfish and Atlantic croaker. 
Potential for competition could oc- 
cur between these 2 species, but, 
because both are often opportunistic 
feeders, it is unlikely that competi- 
tion would occur unless shared re- 
sources become scarce. Descriptions 
of feeding strategies, prey resources, 
and the potential for competition 
among co-occurring species can pro- 
vide a framework for management of 
these species, particularly for ecosys- 
tem-based management. 
Manuscript submitted 3 September 2014. 
Manuscript accepted 1 May 2015. 
Fish. Bull. 113:290-301. 
Online publication date: 15 May 2015. 
doi: 10.7755/FB.113.3.5 
The views and opinions expressed or 
implied in this article are those of the 
author (or authors) and do not necessarily 
reflect the position of the National 
Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA. 
Fishery Bulletin 
established 1881 
Spencer F. Baird 
First U S. Commissioner 
of Fisheries and founder 
of Fishery Bulletin 
Diet composition, feeding strategy, and 
diet oweriap of 3 sciaenids along the 
southeastern United States 
C. Michelle Willis (contact author) 
Jonathan Richardson 
Tracey Smart 
Joseph Cowan 
Patrick Biondo 
Email address for contact author: willisc@dnr.sc.gov 
Southeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program-South Atlantic 
Marine Resources Research Institute 
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources 
217 Fort Johnson Road 
Charleston, South Carolina 29412 
Ecosystem-based fisheries manage- 
ment is dependent on defining not 
only target species but the species 
and habitats with which they inter- 
act. Ecosystem-based management 
models ideally would account for the 
complexities of ecosystems, allowing 
managers to incorporate ecosystem 
relationships in management strat- 
egies and decisions (Brodziak and 
Link, 2002). The Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery and Conservation Reau- 
thorization Act of 2006 (Magnuson- 
Stevens... Act, 2007) highlighted the 
need for research detailing interde- 
pendence among fisheries; trophic 
relationships can play a key role in 
understanding ecosystem composi- 
tion, status, and energy linkages 
within the system (Link, 2002; Mag- 
nuson-Stevens... Act, 2007; Ainsworth 
et ah, 2008). As a result, the South 
Atlantic Fishery Management Coun- 
cil (SAFMC) has prioritized efforts 
to characterize fish diets, define rela- 
tionships between predator and prey, 
and to better understand how these 
relationships affect economically im- 
portant species (SAFMC 1 ). Therefore, 
1 SAFMC (South Atlantic Fishery Man- 
the South Atlantic component of the 
Southeast Area Monitoring and As- 
sessment Program (SEAMAP-SA), as 
part of its Coastal Survey (a long- 
term, fishery-independent, shallow- 
water trawl survey from Cape Ca- 
naveral, Florida, to Cape Hatteras, 
North Carolina), began collecting 
stomachs from 3 common species 
of Sciaenidae: weakfish ( Cynoscion 
regalis ), southern kingfish ( Men- 
ticirrhus americanus), and Atlantic 
croaker ( Micropogonias undulatus). 
Weakfish, southern kingfish, and 
Atlantic croaker commonly occur 
along the eastern coast of the United 
States, residing in shallow waters 
over bottoms of sand or sandy mud. 
Distributions of these species greatly 
overlap, sharing a geographic range 
from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to 
Florida and into the Gulf of Mexico 
(only occasionally in the Gulf of Mex- 
ico in the case of weakfish) (Goode, 
agement Council). 2009. Fishery Eco- 
system Plan of the South Atlantic Re- 
gion. Volume V: South Atlantic research 
programs and data needs, 177 p. South 
Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 
North Charleston, SC. [Available at 
website.] 
