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Resource Partitioning among “Ancillary” Pelagic Fishes (<i>Scomber</i> spp., <i>Trachurus</i> spp.) in the Adriatic Sea
oleh: Zaira Da Ros, Emanuela Fanelli, Sacha Cassatella, Ilaria Biagiotti, Giovanni Canduci, Samuele Menicucci, Andrea De Felice, Sara Malavolti, Iole Leonori
Format: | Article |
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Diterbitkan: | MDPI AG 2023-02-01 |
Deskripsi
The Mediterranean is one of the most overfished seas of the world where mesopredators are severely threatened. The trophic strategies of four pelagic species that inhabit the Adriatic Sea (<i>Scomber</i> spp. and <i>Trachurus</i> spp.) were investigated through an integrated approach of stomach contents and stable isotopes analyses. Our study demonstrated that <i>Scomber colias</i> feeds mainly on strictly pelagic prey, with fish larvae as a secondary prey in the Southern Adriatic Sea, while <i>S. scombrus</i> feeds on prey belonging to higher trophic levels. Smaller specimens of <i>Trachurus mediterraneus</i> have a diet mainly based on pelagic prey, while larger fishes rely on prey such as benthic decapods, showing an ontogenetic shift in the diet of the species. <i>Trachurus trachurus</i> shows a preference for offshore and deeper areas and a diet such as that of its congeneric, but no clear ontogenetic shift was observed. This spatial segregation allows the co-existence of these two species of <i>Trachurus</i>. <i>Scomber colias</i> mainly inhabits southern areas and <i>S. scombrus</i> shows a preference for the northern sectors. This latitudinal gradient avoids the overlap of their trophic niches. Bayesian mixing models confirmed that the trophic niches of these species only partially overlap in the middle of the trophic web.