FOOD AND FEEDING-HABITS OF THE AMBERJACK, SERIOLA-DUMERILI IN THE CENTRAL MEDITERRANEAN SEA DURING THE SPAWNING SEASON

The stomach contents of 308 adult amberjack, Seriola dunerili (Osteich thyes, Carangidae) were analysed to investigate the food and feeding h abits of this species. Fish occurred in 79.7% of non-empty stomachs, a ccounting for 79.5% of prey in number and 71.0% in weight; cephalopods occurred in 26.8% of non-empty stomachs, accounting for 20.5% of prey s in number and 29.0% in weight. The prey items occurring most frequen tly were Boops boops, Loligo spp., Sardinella aurita, Sardina pilchard us and Sepia officinalis. Pelagic preys occurred overall less frequent ly and in lesser amounts than demersal ones; moreover males fed much m ore intensely on demersal preys than females. The amberjack is an esse ntially piscivorous predator. Though commonly considered a ''pelagic'' species, it does not seem dependent on pelagic food sources in the ce ntral Mediterranean, at least during the spawning season.