Ricerc@Sapienza

Feeding habits, diet overlap and morphological correlates of four juvenile species of the genus Diplodus were investigated during their settlement periods, along the Tyrrhenian coast. Stomach content analysis showed that the diets of D. sargus and D. puntazzo mainly comprised benthic prey such as harpacticoid copepods, amphipods and polychaetes. On the other hand, D. vulgaris and D. annularis fed mainly on planktonic prey such as ciclopoids, calanoids copepods and fish larvae. A biologically significant diet overlap, calculated using the Schoener index, was recorded between D.

The ectoparasite communities of two juvenile Diplodus species, D. sargus and D. puntazzo, were studied in a rocky coast of the Central Tyrrhenian sea (Mediterranean Sea) where three neighbouring nursery areas showed a differential availability of microhabitats due to a gradual protection gradient capable of influencing local hydrodynamic conditions. Five parasite forms were detected on juvenile hosts: Peniculus fistula, the two larval forms of gnathiids (praniza and zuphea stages), Caligus sp. and Anilocra physodes.