Ecology Summary - Diodon holocanthus

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Main Ref.	Randall, J.E., 1967
Remarks	Inhabits lagoon and seaward reefs (Ref. 37816, 58534) to open shallow, soft bottoms. Occurs on open muddy substrates as well as on rich soft-bottom and coral reefs. Also in areas with rocky substrata. Young and sub-adults may form small groups (Ref. 48637). Juveniles pelagic to about 6-9 cm. Solitary. Feeds on mollusks, sea urchins, hermit crabs, shellfish and crabs at night (Ref. 9680, 54301). Mobile-invertebrate feeder (Ref. 57615, 57616). Sessile invertebrate feeder (Ref. 126840). A relatively poor swimmer (Ref. 9710). A relatively poor swimmer (Ref. 9710).

Main Ref.

Randall, J.E., 1967

Remarks

Inhabits lagoon and seaward reefs (Ref. 37816, 58534) to open shallow, soft bottoms. Occurs on open muddy substrates as well as on rich soft-bottom and coral reefs. Also in areas with rocky substrata. Young and sub-adults may form small groups (Ref. 48637). Juveniles pelagic to about 6-9 cm. Solitary. Feeds on mollusks, sea urchins, hermit crabs, shellfish and crabs at night (Ref. 9680, 54301). Mobile-invertebrate feeder (Ref. 57615, 57616). Sessile invertebrate feeder (Ref. 126840). A relatively poor swimmer (Ref. 9710). A relatively poor swimmer (Ref. 9710).

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 Diodon holocanthus may be found.

Habitat

Substrate	Soft Bottom: sand; mud; Hard Bottom: rocky;
Substrate Ref.
Special habitats	Coral Reefs: lagoons; Other habitats: deep-water corals;
Special habitats Ref.	Dominici-Arosemena, A. and M. Wolff, 2006

Associations

Ref.
Associations	solitary; schooling;
Associated with	Juveniles often with floating Sargassum rafts.
Association remarks	Sometimes forms groups (Ref. 9710, 48637). Young and sub-adults may form small groups (Ref. 48637).
Parasitism

Feeding

Feeding type	mainly animals (troph. 2.8 and up)
Feeding type Ref.	Randall, J.E., 1967
Feeding habit	hunting macrofauna (predator)
Feeding habit Ref.	Randall, J.E., 1967

Trophic Level(s)

Estimation method	Original sample		Unfished population		Remark
Estimation method	Troph	s.e.	Troph	s.e.	Remark
From diet composition	3.85	0.17	3.27	0.47	Troph of juv./adults from 1 study.
From individual food items	3.31	0.43			Trophic level estimated from a number of food items using a randomized resampling routine.
Ref.	Randall, J.E., 1967

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