Hawkfishes are small demersal reef predators. Although their association with the coral substrate has been widely documented for some species, information regarding their feeding habits is limited, especially in the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP). We characterized the diet of the coral hawkfish Cirrhitichthys oxycephalus in Isla Gorgona (ETP) by visually analyzing its gut contents and calculating its trophic niche breadth. Crustaceans were the most important (relative importance: 73%) and frequent prey found in 89% of the stomachs analyzed. Among crustaceans, copepods were the most abundant prey, suggesting that C. oxycephalus in Isla Gorgona has a specialized diet. In terms of biomass, decapods represented the highest contribution to the diet. Other prey items included micromolluscs and fish. This study highlights the strong trophic link between coral-dwelling reef fish and mobile invertebrates that comprise the coral reef cryptic fauna, and therefore, the indirect benefit that live coral cover has for this species.

中文翻译：

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东热带太平洋边缘珊瑚礁中的珊瑚鹰鱼 Cirrhitichthys oxycephalus（科：Cirrhitidae）的饮食

鹰鱼是小型底栖珊瑚礁捕食者。尽管它们与某些物种的珊瑚基质的关联已被广泛记录，但关于它们的摄食习惯的信息是有限的，尤其是在东热带太平洋 (ETP)。我们通过目视分析其肠道内容物并计算其营养生态位宽度，描述了 Isl​​a Gorgona (ETP) 珊瑚鹰鱼 Cirrhitichthys oxycephalus 的饮食特征。甲壳类动物是最重要的（相对重要性：73%），并且在被分析的 89% 的胃中发现了常见的猎物。在甲壳类动物中，桡足类是最丰富的猎物，这表明戈戈纳岛的 C. oxycephalus 有专门的饮食。就生物量而言，十足目动物对饮食的贡献最大。其他猎物包括微软体动物和鱼。