Natural feeding of juveniles of Lutjanus peru (Nichols and Murphy, 1922) (Lutjanidae: Perciformes) off the coast of Jalisco and Colima, Mexico

Natural feeding of juveniles of Lutjanus peru off the coast of Jalisco and Colima, Mexico, is analyzed. A total of 915 organisms were caught; 696 stom achs were examined and 219 were discarded because they were empty. Items in the stomach content were identified to the lowest possible taxonomic level . Numeric percentage, gravimetric percentage, frequency of occurrence and t he index of relative importance were calculated for each prey. The diet of the organisms studied comprises mainly fish and stomatopods, of which membe rs of the family Congridae and organisms of Squilla hancocki are the most a bundant in the stomach content. Feeding variations occurred during the year and the diet varied with respect to fish length. A significant positive co rrelation between the length of the crustaceans consumed and fish length wa s found. Differences between fish length and prey length were further verif ied with the Kruskal-Wallis test. Distribution of L. peru juveniles was mos tly restricted to the 20- and 40-m isobaths. Low values of abundance were f ound at 60 m. Diet overlap between months is more frequent when prey number is considered.