Diet of albacore Thunnus alalunga from the waters of Mauritius (western Indian Ocean) inferred from stomach contents and fatty acid analysis

The diet of albacore Thunnus alalunga from their spawning ground in the waters of Mauritius was investigated. The stomach contents of 249 albacore individuals, caught by industrial longliners and artisanal fishers, was analysed, and the dominant prey taxa were selected for lipid and fatty acid (FA) analysis. The FA profiles of prey were compared with those of liver tissue of spawning-capable and post-spawning female albacore, using multivariate analysis. Whereas stomach content analysis identified cephalopods and crustaceans as the dominant prey items in number, FA-profile analysis identified crustaceans and fishes as the most-frequently consumed prey of post-spawning female albacore. In contrast, the FA profiles of spawning-capable albacore and those of prey showed very low similarity. Analysis of the prey suggests that although cephalopods, crustaceans and fishes could all provide albacore with the required lipids and FAs, cephalopod prey seem to be less desirable owing to their lower energy content (i.e. low in total lipid, triacylglycerol, 16:0, 18:0 and 18:1ω9). Instead, the most beneficial food appeared to be locally available fishes, which are more energy-rich and have a higher docosahexaenoic acid/ eicosapentaenoic acid ratio. These results provide new information on the trophic ecology of albacore, promote our understanding of the importance of prey type for successful reproduction of albacore, and highlight the advantages of FA profiling to study diet.     

Predominance of parallel‐ and cross‐predation in anglerfish

Several studies in the last 20 years have revealed that morphological asymmetry in fish can be characterized as ‘antisymmetry’. Antisymmetry is a lateral dimorphism in which each population consists of individuals with well‐developed left sides (lefties) and well‐developed right sides (righties). This dimorphism influences predator–prey interactions. In some piscivorous fishes, it has been found that predators can catch more prey of the opposite morphological type to themselves (cross‐predation) than of the same morphological type (parallel‐predation). Our previous work clarified that the predominance of cross‐predation is caused by lateralized behaviors of predators and prey that correspond to their morphological antisymmetry. Moreover, based on the results of our behavioral observations, we hypothesized that parallel‐predation can predominate when predators encounter the potential prey frontally. To test this hypothesis, in the present study we investigated the relationship between lateral morphological types of anglerfish (Lophiomus setigerus) and those of the prey fishes found in their stomachs. Anglerfish attract potential prey using their first dorsal fin (illicium) as a lure, and their frontal encounters with potential prey fishes were photographed in situ and observed in an aquarium. The results of a stomach contents analysis indicated that parallel‐predation predominated in five benthopelagic prey fish species (perches and eels). By contrast, five benthic prey fishes (gobies and weevers) exhibited the predominance of cross‐predation. These results not only demonstrate the predominance of parallel‐predation in a natural fish community, but also suggest that the relationship between morphological types of predator and prey species can be reversed depending on the lifestyle of prey.     

Influence of prey abundance and abiotic factors on the long-term home-range and movement dynamics of spotted grunter Pomadasys commersonnii in an intermittently open estuary

Long-term home-range and movement dynamics of spotted grunter Pomadasys commersonnii and the distribution of their dominant prey, the sandprawn Callichirus kraussi, were investigated in the intermittently open East Kleinemonde Estuary, South Africa. In addition, the effects of fish length, diel cycle, season and other abiotic factors on home range and area use were examined. Nine adult spotted grunter (326–489?mm total length) were tagged with acoustic transmitters, and their movements were studied by manual tracking on six consecutive days and nights during each of five tracking sessions from March to November 2004. In addition, movement patterns were recorded by stationary data-logging receivers. Kernel home ranges (95% utilised distribution) varied in size (mean: 76 797?m²?, range: 26 296–165 321?m²), but were all located in the lower one-third of the 3.6 km-long estuary. There was no effect of season, the diel cycle or fish length on the home-range estimates. However, the distribution of prey corresponded with the home-range distribution of tagged fish. Although sandprawn distribution was highly variable within and among transects and depth classes, sandprawns were most abundant in the lower region of the estuary, which corresponded to the home-range distribution of spotted grunter. Spatial distribution of prey appears to be a dominant factor influencing home-range parameters of this species within an intermittently open estuary.     

Feeding intensity and molecular prey identification of the mantis shrimp,Oratosquilla oratoria (De Haan, 1844), in the Tianjin coastal zone of Bohai Bay

Bohai Bay, a representative semi-enclosed bay of China, has been severely impacted in recent decades by rapid human development. Although the mantis shrimp Oratosquilla oratoria plays an important role in the Bohai Bay ecosystem and fishery, its feeding ecology and the impact of habitat changes on its feeding habits are poorly known. In this study, we sought to identify its feeding strategy through the separation of stomach contents, and to describe its trophic ecology during maturation in the Tianjin coastal zone of Bohai Bay by the DNA barcoding method using a fragment (about 690 bp) of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (CO I) gene. A total of 594 specimens were collected from March to July 2018, and 347 (58.42%) stomachs were found to have food remains. More than half of the O. oratoria individuals had poor feeding activity, and the degree of feeding of females was higher than that of males, but there was no significant difference in the visual fullness index and the fullness weight index (FWI) between sexes for each month. In addition, the feeding activity of O. oratoria was consistent across the months, suggesting in artificial breeding programs it is not worried too much about the accessional diet supplied to the female bloodstocks except maintaining their normal food. A total of 167 retrieved prey items yielded 187 readable sequences; 86.63% of these sequences could be assigned to the species level. Consequently, 25 different prey taxa covering all readable sequences were identified, showing O. oratoria is a generalist predator. In terms of percent composition by frequency of occurrences (%N), crustaceans and fishes accounted for the same and highest percentage (35.83%) in the mantis shrimp diet, followed by mollusks (24.59%) and the remaining marine organisms (3.73%) including Polychaeta (2.67%), Sagittoidea (0.53%), and Chromadorea (0.53%). The result shows the benthic fish Oxudercidae (family) appears to be an especially important food supply for O. oratoria during maturation. The degree of cannibalism decreased with an increase in diet species and the frequencies of cannibalism in this study was noticeably higher than that in previous studies, suggesting that cannibalism may be a significant feeding strategy in the mantis shrimp O. oratoria in the Tianjin coastal zone of Bohai Bay, and because of the frequently cannibalistic behavior, the high stocking density of broodstocks should be avoided.     

山东南部近海秋季长蛇鲻相对资源量的分布及其影响因素

为探究长蛇鲻(Saurida elongate)的生态习性和分布规律,并为长蛇鲻资源的合理利用与养护提供科学依据,本文根据2016年秋季在山东南部近海进行的渔业资源与环境调查数据,分析了该海域长蛇鲻的分布特征,研究长蛇鲻成体、幼体的分布差异,并利用广义可加模型(GAM)研究其分布与生物因子和环境因子的关系。结果表明,长蛇鲻成体与幼体的分布存在差异,成体分布范围广,幼体主要分布在30 m等深线及以浅水域。GAM模型的结果表明,饵料生物、底层水温、水深和底层盐度是影响长蛇鲻相对资源量分布的主要因子。成体、幼体的分布与影响因子的关系差异极显著(P<0.01)。长蛇鲻成体的相对资源量随饵料生物和底层水温的增加表现为先上升后下降的趋势,而幼体呈现一致上升趋势;成体和幼体的相对资源量随水深增加均呈下降趋势;幼体相对资源量随底层盐度增加有明显上升趋势,而盐度对成体的影响不显著。本研究认为山东南部近海是长蛇鲻的重要栖息地,水温和盐度是成体和幼体分布差异的可能原因。     

Scales of predator detection behavior and escape in Fissurella limbata: A field and laboratory assessment

The consumptive effects of predators are widely acknowledged, but predation can also impact prey populations through non‐consumptive effects (NCEs) such as costly antipredator behavioral responses. The magnitude of antipredator behavioral responses by prey is determined by an assessment of risk using sensory cues, which in turn is modulated by the environmental context. We studied the detection behavior and escape response of the keyhole limpet Fissurella limbata from the predatory sea star Heliaster helianthus. Through laboratory and field experimental trials, we quantified the distance and time of predator detection behavior by the prey, and measured their active escape responses when elicited. We found that predator detection by the limpet was chiefly mediated by distance, with experimental individuals capable of detecting predator presence effectively up to distances of at least 50 cm in the field and 70 cm under laboratory conditions. Our results indicate that this prey species is able to evaluate the proximity of its predator and use it as an indication of predation risk; therefore, predator–prey distance appears to be a primary predictor of the magnitude of the antipredator response. Given the tight relationship between predator distance and prey movement and the important role herbivores can play, particularly in this ecosystem, we expect that NCEs will cascade to the patterns of abundance and composition of rocky shore communities through changes in prey foraging behavior under risk.