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Fishery Bulletin 113(3) 
Figure 3 
Plots of the feeding strategies of (A) weakfish ( Cynoscion rega- 
lis), (B) southern kingfish (Menticirrhus americanus), and (C) 
Atlantic croaker ( Micropogonias undulatus) determined with 
the Amundsen method. Prey consumed most frequently are 
numbered: l=Actinopterygii, 2=Mysidae, and 3 =Acetes ameri- 
canus carolinae for weakfish; l=Mysidae, 2=Gammaridea, and 
3=Cumacea for southern kingfish; and l=Mysidae, 2=Crustacea, 
and 3=Gammaridea for Atlantic croaker. 
Overlap 
The analysis performed on mean percent 
weight with the simplified M-H index indicates 
that some diet overlap was observed between 
species pairs (Table 3). The overlap was highest 
between southern kingfish and Atlantic croaker 
(M-H index=0.74; Table 3). M-H index for mean 
percent number indicated less diet overlap for 
all species pairs, although the overlap remained 
highest between southern kingfish and Atlantic 
croaker (M-H index=0.56). 
Discussion 
The diet of weakfish was distinct from that of 
the 2 other species examined; the most impor- 
tant prey consumed were bony fishes on the 
basis of both frequency of occurrence and com- 
position by weight. Our findings are similar 
to those of Merriner (1975), who noted a diet 
dominated by bony fishes, particularly ancho- 
vies and the larger Atlantic thread herring, by 
occurrence, number, and volume. In contrast to 
Merriner (1975), we did not specifically iden- 
tify any Atlantic thread herring in the weakfish 
stomachs. It is possible that the clupeid Atlan- 
tic thread herring was present , but our fish 
remains were identified only to family. Species 
of Anchoa, mostly striped anchovy and bay an- 
chovy, were observed in 19% of stomachs com- 
pared with 58% of stomachs in Merriner’s study. 
Again, it is feasible that species of Anchoa were 
present in a higher percentage of stomachs, 
but identification of fishes was difficult because 
specimens were often highly digested. 
Although the composition by number indi- 
cates that nondecapod crustaceans played an 
important role in the diet of weakfish (57% of 
total prey composition by number), this find- 
ing may be misleading. Mysids are quite small 
and known to occur in aggregations (Omori 
and Hamner, 1982). It is very possible that the 
high numerical occurrence that we found is the 
result of opportunistic encounters with mysid 
patches rather than an indication of targeted 
prey selection or high nutritional importance 
in weakfish diets. Bony fishes were the largest 
dietary component by weight, and weight is a 
more relevant measurement of energetic impor- 
tance of organisms in fish diets than is number 
(Bowen, 1983; Chipps and Garvey, 2007). 
The diet of southern kingfish is similar 
across the range of this species and includes 
polychaetes, amphipods, and mysids. However, 
the frequency of occurrence of various prey 
items differs with location. Off the southeast- 
ern United States, we found that various taxa 
of crustaceans were the most important prey 
