Feeding ecology of the deep-sea lanternshark Etmopterus pusillus (Elasmobranchii: Etmopteridae) in the northeast Atlantic

Scientia Marina

Simeon Hill¹  Yves Cherel²  Rui Coelho³  Esmeralda Costa³  Teresa C. Borges³  Cátia Vieira³  Carlos Assis⁴  José C. Xavier⁵ 

[1] British Antarctic Survey;Centre d´Etudes Biologiques de Chizé;Centre of Marine Sciences (CCMAR), University of Algarve;Department of Animal Biology and Institute of Oceanography, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon;Institute of Marine Research (IMAR-CMA), Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra;

关键词: deep-sea fisheries;    elasmobranch;    etmopterus pusillus;    feeding ecology;    lanternshark;   

DOI  :  10.3989/scimar.03540.07B

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

This study provides the first description of the feeding ecology of the smooth lanternshark Etmopterus pusillus based on stomach contents of specimens caught as bycatch in the Algarve (southern Portugal) with bottom trawling and bottom longline. The diet of E. pusillus consists mainly of fish (dry weight (% W)=87.1%; frequency of occurrence (%FO)=28.6%; number (%N)=30.3%), crustaceans (%W=7.7%; %FO=36.7%; %N=3.4%) and cephalopods (%W=4.7%; %FO=11.3%; %N=11.1%). The diet did not vary between sexes. Ontogenic changes were detected: crustaceans decreased in importance as the sharks increased in size and fish became dominant in the diet of adults. Combining two fishing methods provided broad information on the diet of E. pusillus, as bottom trawling caught smaller specimens and longlines caught larger individuals. E. pusillus feeds mainly on non-commercial species, and therefore does not compete directly with commercial fisheries. Finally, E. pusillus feeds in various parts of the water column and thus it can access a wide range of prey; however, this also means that it can be caught by both gears, making it more vulnerable in terms of conservation.

【 授权许可】

Unknown