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Feeding habits and trophic status of Merluccius hubbsi along the northernmost limit of its distribution in the South-western Atlantic

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2019

Paulo A. S. Costa Open the ORCID record for Paulo A. S. Costa [Opens in a new window] ,
Adriana C. Braga ,
Giovanna S. Malavolti ,
Marcos A. L. Franco ,
Pedro V. Gatts ,
Andressa Batista  and
Carlos E. Rezende
Paulo A. S. Costa*
Affiliation:
Departamento de Ecologia e Recursos Marinhos, Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil Programa de Pós-graduação em Dinâmica dos Oceanos e da Terra, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niterói, RJ, Brazil
Adriana C. Braga
Affiliation:
Departamento de Ecologia e Recursos Marinhos, Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
Giovanna S. Malavolti
Affiliation:
Departamento de Ecologia e Recursos Marinhos, Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
Marcos A. L. Franco
Affiliation:
Departamento de Biociências e Biotecnologia, Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro (UENF), Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ, Brazil
Pedro V. Gatts
Affiliation:
Programa de Pós-graduação em Dinâmica dos Oceanos e da Terra, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niterói, RJ, Brazil Departamento de Biociências e Biotecnologia, Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro (UENF), Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ, Brazil
Andressa Batista
Affiliation:
Departamento de Biociências e Biotecnologia, Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro (UENF), Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ, Brazil
Carlos E. Rezende
Affiliation:
Departamento de Biociências e Biotecnologia, Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro (UENF), Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ, Brazil
*
Author for correspondence: Paulo A. S. Costa, E-mail: paulocosta.unirio@gmail.com
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Abstract

Stomach contents analysis and stable isotope results indicate M. hubbsi is a generalist predator that feeds mainly on demersal fishes, followed by crustaceans and cephalopods. Ontogenetic changes in diet were identified, with fish importance increasing in the diet with hake size. Smaller hake (<250 mm) fed mostly on the sepiolid Semirossia tenera (89.45%IRI) and engraulid fish (89.96%IRI). Mid-sized hake (250–300 mm) fed mainly on benthic fish such as Bellator brachychir (95.63%IRI) and euphausiids (56.46%IRI), while larger hake (>300 mm) fed heavily on Dactylopterus volitans (94.80%IRI) and occasionally on a variety of teleosts. Significant correlations between δ13C (P < 0.05), THg (P < 0.001) and hake size occurred, whereas no relationship was observed between δ15N and hake size or δ15N and total mercury. Signatures were lowest in smaller hake with a tendency of increasing with size. Smaller and larger hake were significantly different in δ13C. Differences regarding isotopic niche width were quantified for each size group; trophic diversity and trophic redundancy among them were negligible, but hake >300 mm possibly have a larger feeding plasticity due to the combination of prey from a wide trophic level range.

Keywords

DietMerluccius hubbsiSouth-western Atlanticstable isotopes
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 99 , Issue 6 , September 2019 , pp. 1399 - 1408
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2019 

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