Foraging ecology of a large opportunistic predator (adult Lateolabrax latus) on a temperate-subtropical rocky shore

Foraging ecology of a large opportunistic predator (adult Lateolabrax latus) was investigated through intensive, targeted sampling of the species on an exposed shallow rocky shore of south-western Japan. The abundance of L. latus increased in autumn and spring, whilst no individual occurred in summer when water temperatures were >24°C. In spring larger sized individuals (>70 cm TL) tended to occur, resulting in a wide range of body sizes. L. latus consumed a wide variety of organisms, of which fishes and benthic crustaceans were particularly important. Overall, the relative importance of invertebrates as food increased in spring, which may be related to seasonal fluctuations of macro-algae and algae-associated faunas. The fact that a large number of adult fish was collected at high tide in intertidal areas and their guts contained intertidal organisms suggests that L. latus relies on the rocky intertidal habitat as a major foraging ground. This in turn points to the potential importance of large, highly mobile predators such as adult L. latus in the food web dynamics of shallow-water (including the intertidal) assemblages.