Spatio-temporal and ontogenetic changes in the diet of the Argentine hake Merluccius hubbsi

The diet and the trophic level of the Argentine hake Merluccius hubbsi was investigated in the south-west Atlantic Ocean. Stomachs from 3405 specimens, ranging from 10 to 94 cm total length, collected on three research cruises carried out during winter 2011 and summer 2012, were examined at the labo...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Belleggia, Mauro, Figueroa, Daniel Enrique, Irusta, Gabriela, Bremec, Claudia Silvia
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2014
País:Argentina
Institución:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
Repositorio:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/99948
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/11336/99948
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:FEEDING ECOLOGY
MERLUCCIIDAE
PATAGONIA
TROPHIC LEVEL
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.6
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1
Descripción
Sumario:The diet and the trophic level of the Argentine hake Merluccius hubbsi was investigated in the south-west Atlantic Ocean. Stomachs from 3405 specimens, ranging from 10 to 94 cm total length, collected on three research cruises carried out during winter 2011 and summer 2012, were examined at the laboratory. Dietary shifts related to sex, maturity stage, size, age, season, region and hour were examined using generalized linear models. The Argentine hake M. hubbsi fed mainly on zooplankton crustaceans (Themisto gaudichaudii, Euphausia lucens and Munida spp.), followed by fish and cephalopods. During summer, cephalopods (mainly Illex argentinus) were the main prey of M. hubbsi, indicating spatio-temporal changes in the diet. This work also revealed ontogenetic dietary changes associated with size, from zooplankton crustaceans during early life stages (E. lucens, T. gaudichaudii and Munida spp.) to fish and cephalopods. The trophic level of M. hubbsi ranged from 3.43 to 4.51 according to season and region. Cannibalism increased with predator length and contributed a maximum of 8.14% to the diet of M. hubbsi during winter on the inner Patagonian continental shelf.