Ecology Summary - Coryphaena hippurus

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Main Ref.	Palko, B.J., G.L. Beardsley and W.J. Richards, 1982
Remarks	Found in open waters but also near the coast (Ref. 9293, 11230). Forms schools. Piscivore (Ref. 39061, 46174). An analysis of stomach contents (Ref. 6859) suggests that feeding is round the clock. Dolphins tend to be closely associated with Sargassum communities as well as with floating and drifting objects on the high seas. In eastern Caribbean, diet varies with season, and mysids are a very important component from October to December (Ref. 39061). Diet also varies slightly with predator size (small dolphinfish eat fewer flyingfish and more squid than larger sized dolphinfish), and with sex (males take proportionally more of the active fast swimming species such as flyingfish, squid and dolphinfish than do females) (Ref. 39061). Pelagic-oceanic. Inhabits coastal waters. Either in pairs or forms small shoals below flotsam. Migratory pattern influenced by temperature, where it follows warm water currents. Feeds on small fishes, squids and crustaceans (Ref. 9773).

Main Ref.

Palko, B.J., G.L. Beardsley and W.J. Richards, 1982

Remarks

Found in open waters but also near the coast (Ref. 9293, 11230). Forms schools. Piscivore (Ref. 39061, 46174). An analysis of stomach contents (Ref. 6859) suggests that feeding is round the clock. Dolphins tend to be closely associated with Sargassum communities as well as with floating and drifting objects on the high seas. In eastern Caribbean, diet varies with season, and mysids are a very important component from October to December (Ref. 39061). Diet also varies slightly with predator size (small dolphinfish eat fewer flyingfish and more squid than larger sized dolphinfish), and with sex (males take proportionally more of the active fast swimming species such as flyingfish, squid and dolphinfish than do females) (Ref. 39061). Pelagic-oceanic. Inhabits coastal waters. Either in pairs or forms small shoals below flotsam. Migratory pattern influenced by temperature, where it follows warm water currents. Feeds on small fishes, squids and crustaceans (Ref. 9773).

Aquatic zones / Water bodies

	Marine - Neritic	Marine - Oceanic	Brackishwater	Freshwater
Marine zones / Brackish and freshwater bodies	supra-littoral zone littoral zone sublittoral zone	epipelagic mesopelagic epipelagic abyssopelagic hadopelagic	estuaries/lagoons/brackish seas mangroves marshes/swamps	rivers/streams lakes/ponds caves exclusively in caves

Highighted items on the list are where Coryphaena hippurus may be found.

Habitat

Substrate	Pelagic;
Substrate Ref.	Al-Abdessalaam, T.Z.S., 1995
Special habitats	Beds: algae/seaweed; Coral Reefs;
Special habitats Ref.	Nguyen, N.T. and V.Q. Nguyen, 2006

Associations

Ref.
Associations	shoaling;
Associated with
Association remarks
Parasitism

Feeding

Feeding type	mainly animals (troph. 2.8 and up)
Feeding type Ref.	Palko, B.J., G.L. Beardsley and W.J. Richards, 1982
Feeding habit	hunting macrofauna (predator)
Feeding habit Ref.	Palko, B.J., G.L. Beardsley and W.J. Richards, 1982

Trophic Level(s)

Estimation method	Original sample		Unfished population		Remark
Estimation method	Troph	s.e.	Troph	s.e.	Remark
From diet composition	4.37		4.26	0.71	Troph of adults from 1 study.
From individual food items	4.28	0.64			Trophic level estimated from a number of food items using a randomized resampling routine.
Ref.	Palko, B.J., G.L. Beardsley and W.J. Richards, 1982

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