Food and Feeding of Atlantic Mudskipper Periophthalmus Barbarus in Ogbo-Okolo Mangrove Forest of Santa Barbara River, Bayelsa State Niger Delta, Nigeria

The food and feeding of Atlantic mudskipper _Periophthalmus barbarus_ in Ogbo-Okolo mangrove Forest of Santa Barbara River, Bayelsa State Niger Delta, Nigeria was studied. The frequency of occurrence method was used for the gut content analysis. The results indicate that _P. barbarus_ feeds on small prey such as small fish (20.3%), fish scales (56.0%), crabs (34.3%), and other arthropods like tiny crustaceans (40.0%). _P. barbarus_ also feed on aquatic macrophytes (49.4%), bacillariophytes (17.1%), algal filament (45.1%), unidentified debris (38.0%) and polychaetes (20.0%). In Numerical Abundance size range 5.5-8.4cm were fish scales (12.8%), Algal filament (12.1%), unidentified debris (11.8%), fragment of higher plants (10.1%), other crustacean parts (8.8%) crustacean appendages (7.9%), crustacean eggs and gills (6.8.0%), polychaete (4.8%), Bacillariophytes (4.0%) while the rare once are cyanophytes (3.8%), carapace (3.0%), fish and bones (3.0%), copepods(2.5%), protozoans (2.0%) chlorophytes (1.5%), standard length range 8.5-9.9cm fish scales (13.6%), fragment of higher plants (12.4%), Algal filament and crustacean appendages (10.0%), other crustacean parts (8.5%), unidentified debris and crustacean eggs and gills (7.5%), polychaete (5.8%), fish and bones (5.5%), and standard length range 10.0-12.0cm fish scales (12.7%), fragment of higher plants (11.7%), other crustacean parts (10.4%), Algal filament (9.9%), unidentified debris (8.0%), crustacean appendages and crustacean eggs and gills (6.6%), fish and bones (5.2%), Bacillariophytes and cyanophytes (4.2%), while the rare once are chlorophytes and polychaete (3.5%). The findings suggest a versatile feeding behavior in P. barbarus, indicating adaptability to a range of prey items and environmental conditions. Understanding the dietary habits of this species is crucial for ecological assessments and conservation efforts in the studied mangrove ecosystem. Thus, the findings can shed light on the supply of the fundamental knowledge about the baseline data for future ecological and biological studies of this species and other species within the Ogbo-Okolo mangrove Forest of Santa Barbara River, Bayelsa State Niger Delta, Nigeria.