Biology King George whiting

1 biology

1.1 diet
1.2 predators
1.3 reproduction

biology
diet

the king george whiting’s distinctive body shape , mouth placement adaptation bottom feeding, predominant method of feeding whiting species. larger whiting feed using protrusile jaws , tube-like mouths suck various types of prey in, on or above ocean substrate. there large body of evidence shows whiting not rely on visual cues when feeding, instead using system based on vibrations emitted prey.

studies of gut content have shown primary food items of king george whiting amphipods, copepods , polychaete worms. unlike of relatives, king george whiting not appear feed on molluscs, unusual because in many parts of southern australia, main bait used recreational fishers catch whiting cockle; mollusc, then, has been deshelled. excellent bait catching king george whiting raw king prawn, such banana prawn. better bought in shell , peeled shortly before using, keeps bait fresh. rare in diet echinoderms, frequent prey other species of sillago. may function of niche partitioning, in many areas king george whiting’s habitat overlaps other species of genus sillago. other minor components of diet include crustaceans such carids, leptostracans, stomatopods, crabs, tanaids, cumaceans , isopods other fish , benthic algae.

as mentioned, younger fish tend school when foraging, , have been known forage in groups other species such silver trevally, tarwhine , other species of whiting. larger fish tend occupy areas larger species such australasian snapper, blue morwong , larger trevally.

predators

king george whiting, juveniles, known common prey number of larger inshore fishes , wading birds. prominent inshore predators australian salmon, members of flathead family, barracouta (a snake mackerel), snook various species of sharks , rays. various species of diving birds, particularly pied cormorant common predators of species, marine mammals such bottlenose , common dolphins.

reproduction

king george whiting reach sexual maturity @ 3 4 years of age, males reaching 30 cm in length , females 34 cm. these lengths used guides when setting minimum legal lengths species, allowing adequate time individual reproduce before being taken.

spawning occurs in range of areas, depending on geographic locality of individual; spawning in deeper water 9 m deep, others in estuaries. may , june common times spawning, spawning events recorded february , late july. juvenile fish recruited areas ocean currents, studies showing species weak swimmer able undertake long distance journeys. location of spawning has implications location of juveniles, estuary breeding individuals.