Ecology Summary - Epinephelus marginatus

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Main Ref.	van der Elst, R.P. and F. Adkin (eds.), 1991
Remarks	Prefers rocky bottoms (Ref. 5222). Solitary and territorial (Ref. 12382). Juveniles are found closer to shore (Ref. 48605) in rocky tidal pools (Ref. 48609). Feeds on crabs and octopi; larger individuals feed on a greater proportion of fishes, the majority of which are reef-associated species (Ref. 6842). Macro-carnivore (Ref. 126840). Feeds on fish and benthic invertebrates (Ref. 13352). Increase of nutritional requirements during the life cycle is satisfied by predating on larger prey instead of a greater number of preys (Ref. 75801).

Main Ref.

van der Elst, R.P. and F. Adkin (eds.), 1991

Remarks

Prefers rocky bottoms (Ref. 5222). Solitary and territorial (Ref. 12382). Juveniles are found closer to shore (Ref. 48605) in rocky tidal pools (Ref. 48609). Feeds on crabs and octopi; larger individuals feed on a greater proportion of fishes, the majority of which are reef-associated species (Ref. 6842). Macro-carnivore (Ref. 126840). Feeds on fish and benthic invertebrates (Ref. 13352). Increase of nutritional requirements during the life cycle is satisfied by predating on larger prey instead of a greater number of preys (Ref. 75801).

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 Epinephelus marginatus may be found.

Habitat

Substrate	: demersal; Hard Bottom: rocky;
Substrate Ref.	Heemstra, P.C. and J.E. Randall, 1993
Special habitats	Other habitats: deep-water corals;
Special habitats Ref.	Simon, T., H.T. Pinheiro, R.L. Moura, A. Carvalho-Filho, L.A. Rocha, A.S. Martins, E. Mazzei, R.B. Francini-Filho, G.M. Amado-Filho and J.-C. Joyeux, 2016

Associations

Ref.	Göthel, H., 1992
Associations	solitary;
Associated with	Cleaned by <>Elacatinus figaro observed off the coast of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil (Ref. 40102).
Association remarks
Parasitism

Feeding

Feeding type	mainly animals (troph. 2.8 and up)
Feeding type Ref.	van der Elst, R.P. and F. Adkin (eds.), 1991
Feeding habit	hunting macrofauna (predator)
Feeding habit Ref.	Machado, L.F., F.A.M.L. Daros, A. Andrade de Bertoncini, M. Hostim-Silva and J.P. Barreiros, 2008

Trophic Level(s)

Estimation method	Original sample		Unfished population		Remark
Estimation method	Troph	s.e.	Troph	s.e.	Remark
From diet composition	4.43		3.66	0.52	Troph of adults from 1 study.
From individual food items	4.08	0.80			Trophic level estimated from a number of food items using a randomized resampling routine.
Ref.	Derbal, F. and M.H. Kara, 1996

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