Abstract
ALTHOUGH many species of fish ingest large amounts of detritus, its nutritional value has been questioned frequently1,2. Detritus in marine and freshwater habitats consists of a mixture of plant debris and amorphous organic matter together with associated heterotrophic and autotrophic microorganisms3. In detritus which does not contain large amounts of undegraded vascular plant matter, most of the protein is associated with heterotrophic microorganisms5–8. This is particularly true in fresh water9. Thus, the value of detritus as a food for fish depends to a large extent on their ability to digest heterotrophic microorganisms. It has been suggested that fish which consume detritus may have this ability4. Using 14C-labelled bacteria in in vitro experiments I have now demonstrated it in Sarotherodon mossambicus.
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BOWEN, S. Mechanism for digestion of detrital bacteria by the cichlid fish Sarotherodon mossambicus (Peters). Nature 260, 137–138 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1038/260137a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/260137a0
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