Locality-specific variation in the feeding of Sparus aurata L.: evidence from two Mediterranean lagoon systems L. Tancioni a, * , S. Mariani b,1 , A. Maccaroni b , A. Mariani b , F. Massa c , M. Scardi a , S. Cataudella a a Laboratory of Experimental Ecology and Aquaculture, Department of Biology, University of Rome ‘‘Tor Vergata’’, Via della Ricerca Scientifica, 00133 Rome, Italy b A.GE.I.S.C.r.l., Via Carlo Emanuele I, 11, Rome, Italy c FAO—ADRIAMED, Corso Umberto I, 30, Termoli (CB), Italy Received 28 June 2002; received in revised form 26 September 2002; accepted 1 October 2002 Abstract A large number of juvenile, sub-adult and adult individuals of Sparus aurata were collected in two adjacent Mediterranean coastal lagoons, Lake Fogliano and Lake Caprolace, located on the central Tyrrhenian coast of Italy. A comprehensive analysis of the feeding habits of this species was carried out using both univariate and multivariate statistical methods. The results showed that qualitative and quantitative changes in the diet of this species take place within the first months of development. Considerable feeding differences between sub-adult and adult individuals of two bream populations were found in the different coastal lagoons: specimens from Fogliano showed a significantly less diverse trophic spectrum, whereas specimens from Caprolace tended to feed on a larger variety of prey. The ecological significance of these differences and their implications for ecosystem management and conservation are discussed. Ó 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Sparus aurata; feeding habit; trophic ecology; coastal lagoons; transitional waters; Mediterranean Sea 1. Introduction The gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata L.) plays a crucial role within lagoon fisheries and ÔvallicultureÕ in the Mediterranean region (Ardizzone, Cataudella, & Rossi, 1988; Cataudella, Crosetti, & Marino, 1995; Ravagnan, 1992) because of its euryhalinity, trophic flexibility (Wassef & Eisawy, 1985) and high commercial value. Owing to improvements in artificial propagation techni- ques (Zohar, Billard, & Weil, 1984), a progressive devel- opment of intensive sea bream rearing has been recorded since the early 1980s (Cataudella, Crosetti et al., 1995); consequently, present intensive production has com- pletely overtaken both coastal and lagoon fishery yields, and most studies on S. aurata are still aimed at optimising intensive rearing methodologies, using a variety of approaches from ichthyopathology to larval feeding be- haviour, developmental biology, physiology, biochem- istry and biotechnology (Cataldi, Cataudella, Monaco, Rossi, & Tancioni, 1987; Francescon et al., 1992; Goldan, Popper, & Karplus, 1997; Guinea & Fernandez, 1997; Jug Dujakovic & Glamuzina, 1990; Kentouri, Divanach, & Paris, 1984; Vergara & Jauncey, 1993). On the other hand, recent international policies strongly support responsible aquaculture development, including enhanced fisheries in coastal lagoons which seems to better match the conservation and sustainable development of coastal areas (Cataudella, Cannas et al., 1995; FAO, 1995). To this end more ecological ap- proaches appear necessary to describe and understand the dynamics of ecosystems in which extensive aquacul- ture production is carried out. In particular, fish feeding habits can provide useful information about the ecolog- ical structure of brackish environments (Cataudella, 1992). Such studies have recently been carried out 1 Molecular Ecology and Fisheries Genetics Laboratory, Depart- ment of Biological Sciences, University of Hull, Hull HU6 7RX, UK. * Corresponding author. E-mail address: tancioni@uniroma2.it (L. Tancioni). Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 57 (2003) 469–474 0272-7714/03/$ - see front matter Ó 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/S0272-7714(02)00376-1