FOOD ITEMS OF THE GRAY MULLET MUGIL-CEPHALUS IN THE BANC-DARGUIN AREA(MAURITANIA)

The stomach and gut content of 22 Mugil cephalus from the Banc d'Argui n shallows (Mauritanian coast, West Africa) is examined. Quartz grains are the predominant material found in the stomach together with small portions of benthic diatoms and 'flakes', aggregates of fine-grained inorganic and organic particles. As the composition of this material i s modified by a sorting procedure during feeding it is difficult to co nclude, whether seagrass stands (muddy and mixed sediments with sand f raction) or sandy flats are preferred as feeding habitats. The animals studied did not or not relevantly utilize the non-diatom microphytes, though the environment of the Banc d'Arguin is rich in microbial mats (cyanobacteria), Vaucheria beds and epiphytic vegetation of seagrass leaves.