RT Journal Article
T1 Taxonomy-based differences in feeding guilds of fish
A1 Sánchez Hernández, Javier
K1 Aquatic Systems
K1 Clades
K1 Fishbase
K1 Global Datasets
K1 Taxonomic Sufficiency
K1 Trophic Ecology
AB It has been taken for granted that feeding guilds and behavior in animals are linked to the taxonomic relatedness of species, but empirical evidence supporting such relationship is virtually missing. To examine the importance of taxonomy on trophic ecology, I here present the first well-resolved dietary taxonomy analysis based on feeding guilds (predation, herbivory, and filtering) among families and genera within the fish order Perciformes. Taxonomic relatedness in feeding did not vary with ecosystem dimension (marine vs. freshwater). Although predation dominates among Perciformes fishes, this study shows that in most cases taxonomic units (family or genus) are composed by species with several feeding guilds. Related species are more similar in feeding compared with species that are taxonomically more distant, demonstrating that there is a greater variation of feeding guilds within families than genera. Thus, there is no consistency in feeding guilds between family- and genus-level taxonomy. This study provides empirical support for the notion that genera are more informative than families, underlining that family-level taxonomy should be avoided to infer feeding habits of fish species at finer taxonomic resolution. Thus, the choice of taxonomic resolution (family or genus level) in ecological studies is key to avoid information loss and misleading results. I conclude that high-rank taxonomic units (i.e., above the generic level) are not appropriate to test research hypotheses about the feeding of fish.
PB Oxford Univesity Press
SN 1674-5507
YR 2020
FD 2020
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10347/21941
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10347/21941
LA eng
NO Javier Sánchez-Hernández, Taxonomy-based differences in feeding guilds of fish, Current Zoology, Volume 66, Issue 1, February 2020, Pages 51–56, https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoz015
NO J.S.-H. was supported by a postdoctoral grant from the Galician Plan for Research, Innovation, and Growth (Plan I2C, Xunta de Galicia)
DS Minerva
RD 22 abr 2026