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Consumption and digestibility rates of four food items (sea star: Luidia sarcii and Astropecten aranciacus, squid: Nototodarus sloanii, shrimp: Parapenaeus longirostris and fish: Boops boops) by the marine gastropod Charonia seguenzae were studied. The food with the greatest mean daily consumption in wet weight was the sea star with 24.03 ± 2.69 g, followed by fish (11.36 ± 3.74 g), shrimp (9.52 ± 1.21 g) and squid (7.36 ± 2.16 g). Absorption rate was higher when squid was consumed (97.1 ± 3.7%, dry weight) followed by shrimp (93.5 ± 4%), fish (87.8 ± 8.6%) and sea star (45 ± 15.3%). Although squid absorption was higher, due to high consumption rates against sea star and fish, energy input did not differ significantly. Tritons absorbed a large proportion of ash only when consuming sea star. Results indicate that C. seguenzae can adapt well in captivity conditions by efficiently digesting alternative foods. Furthermore, a low metabolism is indicated by its low transit that needs 6 to 8 days to digest food consumed from a single feeding. |
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