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Cephalopods in the diet of albacore, Thunnus alalunga, from the eastern Mediterranean

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 September 2008

Alp Salman*
Affiliation:
Ege University Faculty of Fisheries, Department of Hydrobiology, 35100 Bornova, İzmir, Turkey
F. Saadet Karakulak
Affiliation:
Istanbul University, Faculty of Fisheries, Ordu cad. No.200, 34470 Laleli, Istanbul, Turkey
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Alp Salman, Ege University Faculty of Fisheries, Department of Hydrobiology, 35100 Bornova, İzmir, Turkey email: alp.salman@ege.edu.tr

Abstract

In this study, the stomach contents of 116 albacore specimens, Thunnus alalunga were examined from the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Fifty-five of the 116 stomachs examined were empty. The occurrence of major prey categories in stomachs were 95.1% cephalopods, 47.5% teleosts and 39.3% crustaceans with a total of 633 individuals belonging to 14 species identified. Heteroteuthis dispar from the order Sepiolida constituted 56.40% of the main cephalopod prey followed by Onychoteuthis banksii from the order Teuthida.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2008

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