Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-vfjqv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T18:41:58.749Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Cephalopod prey of two demersal sharks caught in the Aegean Sea (eastern Mediterranean)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 October 2017

Vasiliki Kousteni ,
Paraskevi K. Karachle ,
Persefoni Megalofonou  and
Evgenia Lefkaditou
Vasiliki Kousteni*
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology-Marine Biology, Faculty of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis, Ilisia, 15784 Athens, Greece Institute of Marine Biological Resources and Inland Waters, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, 46.7 km Athens Sounio ave., P.O. Box 712, 19013 Anavyssos Attiki, Greece
Paraskevi K. Karachle
Affiliation:
Institute of Marine Biological Resources and Inland Waters, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, 46.7 km Athens Sounio ave., P.O. Box 712, 19013 Anavyssos Attiki, Greece
Persefoni Megalofonou
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology-Marine Biology, Faculty of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis, Ilisia, 15784 Athens, Greece
Evgenia Lefkaditou
Affiliation:
Institute of Marine Biological Resources and Inland Waters, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, 46.7 km Athens Sounio ave., P.O. Box 712, 19013 Anavyssos Attiki, Greece
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: V. Kousteni Department of Zoology-Marine Biology, Faculty of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis, Ilisia, 15784 Athens, Greece email: bkousten@geol.uoa.gr, kousteni@hcmr.gr
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study concerns the cephalopod species that are part of the diet of the small-spotted catshark Scyliorhinus canicula and the longnose spurdog Squalus blainville sampled by commercial trawlers in the Aegean Sea from 2005 to 2012. Based on the examined cephalopod beaks, 15 species were identified belonging in six families of Teuthida, one of Sepiida and two of Octopoda. The diversity of cephalopod prey species was higher for S. canicula (N = 15) than for S. blainville (N = 10). Nektonic cephalopods comprised the majority (>72%) of the preyed species by both sharks, among which about 55% inhabit the demersal zone and 45% the mesopelagic. In the diet of S. canicula, the demersal squid Illex coindetii and the pelagic sepiolid Heteroteuthis dispar were equally represented composing 20% of prey specimens, followed by the small-sized squid Abralia veranyi and the demersal sepiolid Rossia macrosoma. The latter species was substituted in the diet of S. blainville by the demersal medium-sized octopod Scaeurgus unicirrhus, which with the equally represented three other species, composed 50% of the cephalopod prey. Differences observed between S. canicula and S. blainville in the condition of beaks retained in their stomach contents and in the variation of prey species diversity by predator specimen size, may imply differences in their foraging tactics (hunting for prey vs scavenging on the bottom), habitats and stomach evacuation frequency.

Keywords

stomach contentcephalopodsScyliorhinus caniculaSqualus blainvilleMediterranean Sea
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 98 , Special Issue 1: Special Section: European Marine Biology Symposium Papers 2016 , February 2018 , pp. 81 - 88
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Bello, G. (1991) Role of cephalopods in the diet of the swordfish, Xiphias gladius, from the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Bulletin of Marine Science 49, 312–324.Google Scholar
Bello, G. (1997) Cephalopods from the stomach contents of demersal chondrichthyans caught in the Adriatic Sea. Vie Milieu 47, 221–227.Google Scholar
Bello, G. (1999) Cephalopods in the diet of albacore, Thunnus alalunga, from the Adriatic Sea. Journal of Molluscan Studies 65, 233–240.Google Scholar
Blanco, C. and Raga, J.A. (2000) Cephalopod prey of two Ziphius cavivostris (Cetacea) stranded on the western Mediterranean coast. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 80, 381–382.Google Scholar
Boyle, P. (2002) Cephalopod biomass and production: an introduction to the symposium. Bulletin of Marine Science 71, 13–16.Google Scholar
Capapé, C. (1975) Etude du regime alimentaire de Squalus blainvillei (Risso, 1826) des côtes Tunisiennes. Bulletin de l'Institut National Scientifique et Technique d’ Oceanographie et de Peche de Salammbo 4, 61–73.Google Scholar
Clarke, M.R. (1962) Significance of cephalopod beaks. Nature 193, 560–561.Google Scholar
Clarke, M.R. (1986) A handbook for the identification of cephalopod beaks. Oxford: Clarendon Press.Google Scholar
Clarke, M.R. (1996) Cephalopods as prey. III. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences 351, 1053–1065.Google Scholar
Clarke, M.R., Denton, E.J. and Gilpin-Brown, J.B. (1979) On the use of ammonium for buoyancy in squids. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 59, 259–276.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clarke, M.R. and Merrett, N.R. (1972) The significance of squid, whale and other remains from the stomachs of bottom-living deep-sea fish. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 52, 599–603.Google Scholar
Compagno, L.J.V. (1984a) FAO species catalogue. Sharks of the world: an annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Part II. Carchariniformes. FAO Fisheries Synopsis 4. Rome: FAO, pp. 251–265.Google Scholar
Compagno, L.J.V. (1984b) FAO species catalogue. Sharks of the world: an annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Part I. Hexanchiformes to Lamniformes. FAO Fisheries Synopsis 4. Rome: FAO, pp. 109–123.Google Scholar
Dede, A., Salman, A. and Tonay, A.M. (2016) Stomach contents of by-caught striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 96, 869–875.Google Scholar
Dijkgraaf, S. (1975) The sensory physiology of prey perception in the dogfish Scyliorhinus canicula . Revue Suisse De Zoologie 82, 41–46.Google Scholar
González, A.F., Castro, B.G. and Guerra, A. (1996) Age and growth of the short-finned squid Illex coindetii in Galician waters (NW Spain) based on statolith analysis. ICES Journal of Marine Science 53, 802–810.Google Scholar
Gravino, F., Dimech, M. and Schembri, P.J. (2010) Feeding habits of the small-spotted catshark Scyliorhinus canicula (L., 1758) in the central Mediterranean. Rapport de la Commission International pour I'Exploration de la Mer Méditerranée 39, 538.Google Scholar
Hanlon, R.T. and Messenger, J.B. (1996) Cephalopod behaviour. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Kabasakal, H. (2002) Stomach contents of the longnose spurdog, Squalus blainville (Risso, 1826) from the north-eastern Aegean Sea. Annales, Series Historia Naturalis 12, 173–176.Google Scholar
Karachle, P.K. and Stergiou, K.I. (2010) Food and feeding habits of nine elasmobranch species in the Aegean Sea. Rapport de la Commission International pour I'Exploration de la Mer Méditerranée 39, 553.Google Scholar
Kousteni, V. (2015) Population characteristics and heavy metal concentrations in benthic sharks from the eastern Mediterranean Sea. PhD thesis. National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.Google Scholar
Kousteni, V., Karachle, P.K. and Megalofonou, P. (2016a) Diet of the small-spotted catshark Scyliorhinus canicula in the Aegean Sea (eastern Mediterranean). Marine Biology Research 13, 161–173. doi: 10.1080/17451000.2016.1239019.Google Scholar
Kousteni, V., Karachle, P.K. and Megalofonou, P. (2017) Diet and trophic level of the longnose spurdog Squalus blainville (Risso, 1826) in the deep waters of the Aegean Sea. Deep Sea Research Part I 124, 93–102. doi: 10.1016/j.dsr.2017.04.008.Google Scholar
Kousteni, V., Kasapidis, P., Kotoulas, G. and Megalofonou, P. (2015) Strong population genetic structure and contrasting demographic histories for the small-spotted catshark (Scyliorhinus canicula) in the Mediterranean Sea. Heredity 114, 333–343. doi: 10.1038/hdy.2014.107.Google Scholar
Kousteni, V., Kasapidis, P., Kotoulas, G. and Megalofonou, P. (2016b) Evidence of high genetic connectivity for the longnose spurdog Squalus blainville in the Mediterranean Sea. Mediterranean Marine Science 17, 371–383. doi: 10.12681/mms.1222.Google Scholar
Lansdell, M. and Young, J. (2007) Pelagic cephalopods from eastern Australia: species composition, horizontal and vertical distribution determined from the diets of pelagic fishes. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries 17, 125–138. doi: 10.1007/s11160-006-9024-8.Google Scholar
Lefkaditou, E. (2007) II.4. Review of cephalopod fauna in Hellenic waters. In Papaconstantinou, C., Zenetos, A., Vassilopoulou, V. and Tserpes, G. (eds) State of Hellenic fisheries. Athens: HCMR Publications, pp. 62–69.Google Scholar
Lefkaditou, E., Anastasopoulou, A. and Mytilineou, Ch. (2016) Cephalopod prey of two skate and five shark species caught by longline in the eastern Ionian. Rapport de la Commission International pour I'Exploration de la Mer Méditerranée 41, 320.Google Scholar
Lefkaditou, E., Papaconstantinou, C. and Anastasopoulou, A. (1999) Juvenile cephalopods collected in the midwater macroplankton over a trench, in the Aegean Sea (northeastern Mediterranean). Israel Journal of Zoology 45, 395–405.Google Scholar
Lefkaditou, E. and Poulopoulos, Y. (1998) Cephalopod remains in the stomach-content of beaked whales, Ziphius cavirostris (Cuvier, 1823), from the Ionian Sea. Rapport de la Commission International pour I'Exploration de la Mer Méditerranée 35, 460–461.Google Scholar
Madurell, T. (2003) Feeding strategies and trophodynamic requirements of deep-sea demersal fish in the Eastern Mediterranean. PhD thesis. University of Balearic Islands, Balearic Islands, Spain.Google Scholar
Martinho, F., Sá, C., Falcão, J., Cabral, H.N. and Pardal, M.A. (2012) Comparative feeding ecology of two elasmobranch species, Squalus blainville and Scyliorhinus canicula, off the coast of Portugal. Fishery Bulletin 110, 71–84.Google Scholar
Mnasri, N., El Kamel, O., Boumaïza, M., Reynaud, C. and Capapé, C. (2012) Food and feeding habits of the small-spotted catshark, Scyliorhinus canicula (Chondrichthyes: Scyliorhinidae) from the northern coast of Tunisia (central Mediterranean). Cahiers de Biologie Marine 53, 139–150.Google Scholar
Moranta, J., Stefanescu, C., Massutí, E., Morales-Nin, B. and Lloris, D. (1998) Fish community structure and depth-related trends on the continental slope of the Balearic Islands (Algerian basin, western Mediterranean). Marine Ecology Progress Series 171, 247–259.Google Scholar
Murphy, E.J., Cavanagh, R.D., Hofmann, E.E., Hill, S.L. and Constable, A.J. (2012) Developing integrated models of Southern Ocean food webs: including ecological complexity, accounting for uncertainty and the importance of scale. Progress in Oceanography 102, 74–92.Google Scholar
Naef, A. (1923) Die Cephalopoden. Fauna u Flora Neapel. Monograph No 35. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution.Google Scholar
Olaso, I., Velasco, F. and Pérez, N. (1998) Importance of discarded blue whiting (Micromesistius poutassou) in the diet of lesser spotted dogfish (Scyliorhinus canicula) in the Cantabrian Sea. ICES Journal of Marine Science 55, 331–341.Google Scholar
Olaso, I., Velasco, F., Sánchez, F., Serrano, A., Rodríguez-Cabello, C. and Cendrero, D. (2005) Trophic relations of lesser-spotted catshark (Scyliorhinus canicula) and blackmouth catshark (Galeus melastomus) in the Cantabrian Sea. Journal of Northwest Atlantic Fishery Science 36, 481–494.Google Scholar
Olson, R.J. and Watters, G.M. (2003) A model of the pelagic ecosystem in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission Bulletin 22, 133–217.Google Scholar
Orsi Relini, L. and Relini, M. (1993) The stomach content of some common dolphins (Delphinus delphis L.) from the Ligurian Sea. European Research on Cetaceans 7, 99–102.Google Scholar
Özütemiz, Ş., Kaya, M. and Özaydın, O. (2009) Growth and feeding characteristics of two sharks species [Galeus melastomus Rafinesque, 1810 and Squalus blainvillei (Risso, 1826)] from Sığacık Bay (Aegean Sea). Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 6, 211–217.Google Scholar
Peristeraki, P., Tserpes, G. and Lefkaditou, E. (2005) Investigation of prey-predator relations through cephalopod remains in Xiphias gladius stomachs. Journal of Fish Biology 66, 1–6.Google Scholar
Piatkowski, U., Pierce, G.J. and Morais da Cunha, M. (2001) Impact of cephalopods in the food chain and their interaction with the environment and fisheries: an overview. Fisheries Research 52, 5–10.Google Scholar
Piatkowski, U. and Pütz, K. (1994) Squid diet of emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) in the eastern Weddell Sea, Antarctica during late summer. Antarctic Science 6, 241–247.Google Scholar
Roberts, S.M. (2003) Examination of the stomach contents from a Mediterranean sperm whale found south of Crete, Greece. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 83, 667–670.Google Scholar
Rodhouse, P., Dawe, E.G. and O'Dor, R.K. (1998) Squid recruitment dynamics: the genus Illex as a model, the commercial Illex species and influence on variability. FAO Fisheries Technical Paper, no. 376. Rome: FAO, 273 pp.Google Scholar
Rodríguez-Cabello, C., Sánchez, F. and Olaso, I. (2007) Distribution patterns and sexual segregations of Scyliorhinus canicula (L.) in the Cantabrian Sea. Journal of Fish Biology 70, 1568–1586.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Romeo, T., Battaglia, P., Pedà, C., Perzia, P., Consol, P., Esposito, V. and Andaloro, F. (2012) Pelagic cephalopods of the central Mediterranean Sea determined by the analysis of the stomach content of large fish predators. Helgoland Marine Research 66, 295–306.Google Scholar
Roper, C.F.E. (1974) Vertical and seasonal distribution of pelagic cephalopods in the Mediterranean Sea: preliminary report. Bulletin of the American Malacological Union 39, 27–30.Google Scholar
Roper, C.F.E. and Young, R.E. (1975) Vertical distribution of pelagic cephalopods. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 209, 1–51.Google Scholar
Salman, A. (2004) The role of cephalopods in the diet of swordfish (Xiphias gladius Linnaeus, 1758) in the Aegean Sea (Eastern Mediterranean). Bulletin of Marine Science 74, 21–29.Google Scholar
Salman, A., Bilecenoğlu, M. and Güçlüsoy, H. (2001) Stomach contents of two Mediterranean monk seals, Monachus monachus (Herman, 1779), from the Aegean Sea. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 81, 719–720.Google Scholar
Salman, A. and Karakulak, S. (2009) Cephalopods in the diet of albacore, Thunnus alalunga, from the eastern Mediterranean. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 89, 635–640.Google Scholar
Šantić, M., Rađa, B. and Pallaoro, A. (2012) Feeding habits of small-spotted catshark (Scyliorhinus canicula Linnaeus, 1758) from the eastern central Adriatic Sea. Marine Biology Research 8, 1003–1011.Google Scholar
Serrano, A., Velasco, F., Olaso, I. and Sánchez, F. (2003) Macrobenthic crustaceans in the diet of demersal fish in the Bay of Biscay in relation to abundance in the environment. Sarsia 88, 36–48.Google Scholar
Smale, M.J. (1996) Cephalopods as prey. IV fishes. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences 351, 1067–1081.Google Scholar
Valls, M., Quetglas, A., Ordines, F. and Moranta, J. (2011) Feeding ecology of demersal elasmobranchs from the shelf and slope off the Balearic Sea (western Mediterranean). Scientia Marina 75, 633–639.Google Scholar
Velasco, F., Olaso, I. and Sánchez, F. (2001) The role of cephalopods as forage for the demersal fish community in the southern Bay of Biscay. Fisheries Research 52, 65–77.Google Scholar
Wood, J.B. and Day, C.L. (1998) CephBase. Available at http://www.cephbase.utmb.edu/.Google Scholar
Xavier, J.C. and Cherel, Y. (2009) Cephalopod beak guide for the Southern Ocean. Cambridge: British Antarctic Survey.Google Scholar
Xavier, J.C., Walker, K., Elliott, G., Cherel, Y. and Thompson, D. (2014) Cephalopod fauna of South Pacific waters: new information from breeding New Zealand wandering albatrosses. Marine Ecology Progress Series 513, 131–142.Google Scholar
Yano, K. and Tanaka, S. (1984) Some biological aspects of the deep sea squaloid shark Centroscymnus from Suruga Bay, Japan. Bulletin of the Japanese Society of Scientific Fisheries 50, 249–256.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: PDF

Kousteni et al supplementary material 1

Kousteni et al supplementary material

Download Kousteni et al supplementary material 1(PDF)
PDF 311.1 KB