[Food habits of the rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss (Salmoniformes: Salmonidae) in an Andean creek of Venezuela]. / Hábitos alimenticios de la trucha arcoiris, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Salmoniformes: Salmonidae), en una quebrada altiandina venezolana.

Monthly stomach context samples of rainbow trout from Mucunután stream (Mérida, Venezuela), were collected from, March 1987 to February 1988 (n = 306). The major dietary components were Ephemeroptera, Trichoptera and Diptera. Baetodes sp. was the most important food item based on numerical composition (43%) and frequency of occurrence (88%). When the gravimetric method was used Leptonema sp. was the major dietary component. The diet was not a function of sex. The consumed fauna was more similar to the drift invertebrate fauna than to that of benthos (p < 0.01). The fluctuations on the stomach content paralleled changes of food availability in the environment.