A real‐time PCR assay to detect predation by spiny dogfish on Atlantic cod in the western North Atlantic Ocean
Abstract Conventional observations show spiny dogfish ( Squalus acanthius Linnaeus) rarely eat Atlantic cod ( Gadus morhua Linnaeus; 0.02% of stomachs) in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean. Critics express concern that digestion may limit species‐level prey identification, and with recovery from overf...
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crwiley:10.1002/ece3.6694 2024-09-15T17:55:27+00:00 A real‐time PCR assay to detect predation by spiny dogfish on Atlantic cod in the western North Atlantic Ocean Pitchford, Steven C. Smith, Brian E. McBride, Richard S. 2020 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.6694 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ece3.6694 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/ece3.6694 en eng Wiley http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Ecology and Evolution volume 10, issue 20, page 11022-11030 ISSN 2045-7758 2045-7758 journal-article 2020 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.6694 2024-08-15T04:20:22Z Abstract Conventional observations show spiny dogfish ( Squalus acanthius Linnaeus) rarely eat Atlantic cod ( Gadus morhua Linnaeus; 0.02% of stomachs) in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean. Critics express concern that digestion may limit species‐level prey identification, and with recovery from overfishing, dogfish populations may be suppressing cod by competition or predation. This study applied a real‐time PCR TaqMan assay to identify cod in dogfish stomachs collected by cooperating fishing boats during normal trawling operations (May 2014–May 2015; Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank). Conventional methods observed 51 different prey taxa and nearly 1,600 individual prey items, but no cod were observed. Cod DNA was detected in 31 (10.5%) of the dogfish stomachs, with a higher percentage of these from the homogenate of amorphous, well‐digested prey and stomach fluids (20 stomachs or 65%) than from discrete animal tissues (11 stomachs or 35%). Re‐examination of photographs of these 11 tissue samples revealed one whole, partially digested fish that could be recognized in hindsight as cod. Cod DNA was observed in dogfish stomachs year round: in January (1 of 1 trip), February (1 of 1), May (1 of 3), June (0 of 1), July (3 of 4), August (1 of 2), and October (3 of 3). Although these data suggest higher interaction rates between dogfish and cod than previously observed, addressing the population consequences of this predator–prey relationship requires a robust sampling design, estimates of digestion rates by dogfish to account for complete degradation of DNA sequences, and consideration for dogfish scavenging during fishing operations. Article in Journal/Newspaper atlantic cod Gadus morhua North Atlantic spiny dogfish Wiley Online Library Ecology and Evolution 10 20 11022 11030 |
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English |
description |
Abstract Conventional observations show spiny dogfish ( Squalus acanthius Linnaeus) rarely eat Atlantic cod ( Gadus morhua Linnaeus; 0.02% of stomachs) in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean. Critics express concern that digestion may limit species‐level prey identification, and with recovery from overfishing, dogfish populations may be suppressing cod by competition or predation. This study applied a real‐time PCR TaqMan assay to identify cod in dogfish stomachs collected by cooperating fishing boats during normal trawling operations (May 2014–May 2015; Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank). Conventional methods observed 51 different prey taxa and nearly 1,600 individual prey items, but no cod were observed. Cod DNA was detected in 31 (10.5%) of the dogfish stomachs, with a higher percentage of these from the homogenate of amorphous, well‐digested prey and stomach fluids (20 stomachs or 65%) than from discrete animal tissues (11 stomachs or 35%). Re‐examination of photographs of these 11 tissue samples revealed one whole, partially digested fish that could be recognized in hindsight as cod. Cod DNA was observed in dogfish stomachs year round: in January (1 of 1 trip), February (1 of 1), May (1 of 3), June (0 of 1), July (3 of 4), August (1 of 2), and October (3 of 3). Although these data suggest higher interaction rates between dogfish and cod than previously observed, addressing the population consequences of this predator–prey relationship requires a robust sampling design, estimates of digestion rates by dogfish to account for complete degradation of DNA sequences, and consideration for dogfish scavenging during fishing operations. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Pitchford, Steven C. Smith, Brian E. McBride, Richard S. |
spellingShingle |
Pitchford, Steven C. Smith, Brian E. McBride, Richard S. A real‐time PCR assay to detect predation by spiny dogfish on Atlantic cod in the western North Atlantic Ocean |
author_facet |
Pitchford, Steven C. Smith, Brian E. McBride, Richard S. |
author_sort |
Pitchford, Steven C. |
title |
A real‐time PCR assay to detect predation by spiny dogfish on Atlantic cod in the western North Atlantic Ocean |
title_short |
A real‐time PCR assay to detect predation by spiny dogfish on Atlantic cod in the western North Atlantic Ocean |
title_full |
A real‐time PCR assay to detect predation by spiny dogfish on Atlantic cod in the western North Atlantic Ocean |
title_fullStr |
A real‐time PCR assay to detect predation by spiny dogfish on Atlantic cod in the western North Atlantic Ocean |
title_full_unstemmed |
A real‐time PCR assay to detect predation by spiny dogfish on Atlantic cod in the western North Atlantic Ocean |
title_sort |
real‐time pcr assay to detect predation by spiny dogfish on atlantic cod in the western north atlantic ocean |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.6694 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ece3.6694 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/ece3.6694 |
genre |
atlantic cod Gadus morhua North Atlantic spiny dogfish |
genre_facet |
atlantic cod Gadus morhua North Atlantic spiny dogfish |
op_source |
Ecology and Evolution volume 10, issue 20, page 11022-11030 ISSN 2045-7758 2045-7758 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.6694 |
container_title |
Ecology and Evolution |
container_volume |
10 |
container_issue |
20 |
container_start_page |
11022 |
op_container_end_page |
11030 |
_version_ |
1810431745095368704 |