COMPETITION BETWEEN MULLET FRY

The fry of Liza ramada, L. aurata, L. saliens, Chelon labrosus and Mug il cephalus in a lagoon in NE Spain fed mainly on zooplanktonic crusta cea, such as cyclopoids, calanoids and cladocerans, but adult chironom ids were also important. A high trophic and temporal overlap was found between the fry of several of these species. Trophic overlap was asym metrical for almost all the species pairs and niche breadth expanded f or the less competitive species when they were alone in the estuary. I n contrast, niche breadth did not expand for the most competitive spec ies (L. ramada) when it was alone. These results suggest that competit ion was occurring among these species, but experimental evidence is ne eded to prove its existence. (C) 1995 The Fisheries Society of the Bri tish Isles