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Diet and trophic position of the devil rays Mobula thurstoni and Mobula japanica as inferred from stable isotope analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 June 2010

Laura Sampson ,
Felipe Galván-Magaña ,
Roxana De Silva-Dávila ,
Sergio Aguíñiga-García  and
John B. O'Sullivan
Laura Sampson*
Affiliation:
Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas, AV IPN s/n, Apartado Postal 592, La Paz, BCS, MexicoCP 23000
Felipe Galván-Magaña
Affiliation:
Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas, AV IPN s/n, Apartado Postal 592, La Paz, BCS, MexicoCP 23000
Roxana De Silva-Dávila
Affiliation:
Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas, AV IPN s/n, Apartado Postal 592, La Paz, BCS, MexicoCP 23000
Sergio Aguíñiga-García
Affiliation:
Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas, AV IPN s/n, Apartado Postal 592, La Paz, BCS, MexicoCP 23000
John B. O'Sullivan
Affiliation:
Monterey Bay Aquarium, 886 Cannery Row, Monterey, CA 93940-1023, USA
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: L. Sampson, Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas, AV IPN s/n, Apartado Postal 592, La Paz, BCS, MexicoCP 23000 email: lausamps@gmail.com
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Abstract

This study confirms the diet and determines the trophic position of the bentfin devil ray (Mobula thurstoni) and spinetail devil ray (Mobula japanica) in the south-west Gulf of California. There has been an active fishery in the area for these filter-feeding elasmobranchs, which are highly susceptible to exploitation due to low fecundity and long lifespan. However, information on their basic biology is scarce. δ13C and δ15N values of devil rays and zooplankton (sorted according to trophic level: herbivores, carnivores and omnivores) were determined over a period of 11 months, to allow for isotopic temporal variations in isotopic signals at the base of the food web. On the basis of fractionation factors we determined that bentfin and spinetail devil rays fed mainly on Nyctiphanes simplex, the most abundant euphausiid in neritic waters of the Gulf of California. The trophic positions obtained for the devil rays correspond to second level consumers.

Keywords

devil raysdietNyctiphanes simplexstable isotopestemporal variability
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 90 , Issue 5 , August 2010 , pp. 969 - 976
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2010

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