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Martins K, Niella Y, Albuquerque F, Eduardo LN, Oliveira P, Travassos P. Feeding behavior of yellowfin tuna around two insular regions of the western Atlantic Ocean. JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY 2024; 104:1112-1121. [PMID: 38174622 DOI: 10.1111/jfb.15646] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2023] [Revised: 10/27/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
The yellowfin tuna is a very abundant tropical tuna species in the western equatorial Atlantic Ocean and an important fishery resource for the Brazilian tuna fleet. In this study we performed stable isotope analysis to better understand the spatial trophodynamics and dietary changes in yellowfin tuna around two insular marine protected areas in Brazil. A total of 65 yellowfin tuna specimens measuring between 47 and 138 cm LT (total length) were sampled around the archipelagos of Fernando de Noronha (FNA; n = 34) and Saint Peter and Saint Paul (SPSPA; n = 31) between July 2018 and September 2019. Bayesian mixing models and generalized additive models were used to investigate the contributions of four different prey items (zooplankton, cephalopods, fish larvae, and flying fish) to yellowfin tuna diet in each area and their potential changes in relation to predator growth. The four prey items were found to have different overall contributions between the two studied areas, with zooplankton being the most important prey in FNA, whereas flying fish was the most relevant prey to the species' diet in SPSPA. Significant changes in the species diet by size were also found, with fish smaller than 90 cm (TL) having a more generalist diet and larger animals relying more on consuming larger and more nutritious prey (i.e., flying fish). Our results suggest that these two marine protected areas play an important role in ocean dynamics, providing important and different foraging grounds for the development of this predator species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karla Martins
- Laboratório de Ecologia Marinha, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
| | - Yuri Niella
- School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Fernanda Albuquerque
- Laboratório de Etologia de Peixes, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
| | | | - Paulo Oliveira
- Laboratório de Etologia de Peixes, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
| | - Paulo Travassos
- Laboratório de Ecologia Marinha, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
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Eduardo LN, Lucena-Frédou F, Lanco Bertrand S, Lira AS, Mincarone MM, Nunes GT, Frédou T, Soares A, Le Loc'h F, Pelage L, Schwamborn R, Travassos P, Martins K, Lira SMA, Figueiredo GAA, Júnior TV, Ménard F, Bertrand A. From the light blue sky to the dark deep sea: Trophic and resource partitioning between epipelagic and mesopelagic layers in a tropical oceanic ecosystem. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 878:163098. [PMID: 36996984 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2022] [Revised: 03/21/2023] [Accepted: 03/23/2023] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
The connection between epipelagic and deep-sea mesopelagic realms controls a variety of ecosystem processes including oceanic carbon storage and the provision of harvestable fish stocks. So far, these two layers have been mostly addressed in isolation and the ways they connect remain poorly understood. Furthermore, both systems are affected by climate change, exploitation of resources, and increasing pervasion of pollutants. Here we use bulk isotopes of δ13C and δ15N of 60 ecosystem components to evaluate the trophic linkage between epipelagic and mesopelagic ecosystems in warm oligotrophic waters. Additionally, we we conducted a comparison of isotopic niche sizes and overlaps across multiple species to evaluate how environmental gradients between epipelagic and mesopelagic ecosystems shape ecological patterns of resource use and competition between species. Our database comprises siphonophores, crustaceans, cephalopods, salpas, fishes, and seabirds. It also includes five zooplankton size classes, two groups of fish larvae, and particulate organic matter collected at different depths. Through this wide taxonomic and trophic variety of epipelagic and mesopelagic species, we show that pelagic species access resources originating from different food sources, mostly autotrophic-based (epipelagics) and microbial heterotrophic-based (mesopelagics). This leads to a sharp trophic dissimilarity between vertical layers. Additionally, we show that trophic specialization increases in deep-sea species and argue that food availability and environmental stability are among the main drivers of this pattern. Finally, we discuss how the ecological traits of pelagic species highlighted in this study can respond to human impacts and increase their vulnerability in the Anthropocene.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leandro Nolé Eduardo
- MARBEC, Univ. Montpellier, CNRS, Ifremer, IRD, Sète, France; Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco (UFRPE), Departamento de Pesca e Aquicultura, Recife, PE, Brazil.
| | - Flávia Lucena-Frédou
- Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco (UFRPE), Departamento de Pesca e Aquicultura, Recife, PE, Brazil
| | | | - Alex Souza Lira
- Universidade Federal de Sergipe (UFS), Departamento de Pesca e Aquicultura, Aracajú, SE, Brazil
| | - Michael Maia Mincarone
- Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Instituto de Biodiversidade e Sustentabilidade, Macaé, RJ, Brazil; Chapman University, Schmid College of Science and Technology, Orange, CA, USA
| | - Guilherme Tavares Nunes
- Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Centro de Estudos Costeiros, Limnológicos e Marinhos, Imbé, RS, Brazil
| | - Thierry Frédou
- Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco (UFRPE), Departamento de Pesca e Aquicultura, Recife, PE, Brazil
| | - Andrey Soares
- Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco (UFRPE), Departamento de Pesca e Aquicultura, Recife, PE, Brazil
| | - François Le Loc'h
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Univ. Brest, CNRS, Ifremer, LEMAR, IUEM, F-29280 Plouzane, France
| | - Latifa Pelage
- Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco (UFRPE), Departamento de Pesca e Aquicultura, Recife, PE, Brazil
| | - Ralf Schwamborn
- Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE), Departamento de Oceanografia, Recife, PE, Brazil
| | - Paulo Travassos
- Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco (UFRPE), Departamento de Pesca e Aquicultura, Recife, PE, Brazil
| | - Karla Martins
- Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco (UFRPE), Departamento de Pesca e Aquicultura, Recife, PE, Brazil
| | - Simone M A Lira
- Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE), Departamento de Oceanografia, Recife, PE, Brazil
| | | | - Teodoro Vaske Júnior
- Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho (UNESP), Instituto de Biociências, São Vicente, SP, Brazil
| | - Frédéric Ménard
- Aix Marseille Univ., Université de Toulon, CNRS, UM110 Marseille, IRD, MIO, France
| | - Arnaud Bertrand
- MARBEC, Univ. Montpellier, CNRS, Ifremer, IRD, Sète, France; Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco (UFRPE), Departamento de Pesca e Aquicultura, Recife, PE, Brazil
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