Stomach content analysis of mesopelagic fish from the southern Kerguelen Axis
Mesopelagic fish represent an important trophic link between zooplankton and higher order predators in Southern Ocean food webs. Information on their feeding habits is still sparse, representing a key area of uncertainty in efforts to understand and model Southern Ocean food web dynamics. We used vi...
Published in: | Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography |
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2019.104659 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/135310 |
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ftunivtasecite:oai:ecite.utas.edu.au:135310 2023-05-15T13:42:40+02:00 Stomach content analysis of mesopelagic fish from the southern Kerguelen Axis Riaz, J Walters, A Trebilco, R Bestley, S Lea, M-A 2019 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2019.104659 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/135310 en eng Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2019.104659 Riaz, J and Walters, A and Trebilco, R and Bestley, S and Lea, M-A, Stomach content analysis of mesopelagic fish from the southern Kerguelen Axis, Deep-Sea Research Part II, 174 Article 104659. ISSN 0967-0645 (2019) [Refereed Article] http://ecite.utas.edu.au/135310 Biological Sciences Ecology Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology) Refereed Article PeerReviewed 2019 ftunivtasecite https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2019.104659 2022-09-05T22:16:57Z Mesopelagic fish represent an important trophic link between zooplankton and higher order predators in Southern Ocean food webs. Information on their feeding habits is still sparse, representing a key area of uncertainty in efforts to understand and model Southern Ocean food web dynamics. We used visual assessment of stomach contents to characterise the diets of three myctophids ( Electrona antarctica, Gymnoscopelus braueri, Krefftichthys anderssoni ) and one bathylagid ( Bathylagus antarcticus ) over the southern extension of the Kerguelen Plateau (southern Kerguelen Axis), a highly productive area of both biological and economic importance in the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean. Diets of all four species were dominated by euphausiids, amphipods, copepods and fish. Bathylagus antarcticus also preyed upon a high proportion of soft-bodied organisms. There was strong evidence for dietary variability both within and between species, and this variability was driven by latitudinal variation in zooplankton assemblages. Size-based shifts in diet were apparent, with larger individuals of myctophid and bathylagid species consuming larger prey. Linear mixed effects models also demonstrated that the weight of prey consumed increased in relation to predator weight. Dietary information presented here advances our understanding of the mesopelagic components of Southern Ocean food webs, which will improve the development of food web models for the region. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctica antarcticus Southern Ocean Copepods eCite UTAS (University of Tasmania) Southern Ocean Kerguelen Indian Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography 174 104659 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
eCite UTAS (University of Tasmania) |
op_collection_id |
ftunivtasecite |
language |
English |
topic |
Biological Sciences Ecology Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology) |
spellingShingle |
Biological Sciences Ecology Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology) Riaz, J Walters, A Trebilco, R Bestley, S Lea, M-A Stomach content analysis of mesopelagic fish from the southern Kerguelen Axis |
topic_facet |
Biological Sciences Ecology Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology) |
description |
Mesopelagic fish represent an important trophic link between zooplankton and higher order predators in Southern Ocean food webs. Information on their feeding habits is still sparse, representing a key area of uncertainty in efforts to understand and model Southern Ocean food web dynamics. We used visual assessment of stomach contents to characterise the diets of three myctophids ( Electrona antarctica, Gymnoscopelus braueri, Krefftichthys anderssoni ) and one bathylagid ( Bathylagus antarcticus ) over the southern extension of the Kerguelen Plateau (southern Kerguelen Axis), a highly productive area of both biological and economic importance in the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean. Diets of all four species were dominated by euphausiids, amphipods, copepods and fish. Bathylagus antarcticus also preyed upon a high proportion of soft-bodied organisms. There was strong evidence for dietary variability both within and between species, and this variability was driven by latitudinal variation in zooplankton assemblages. Size-based shifts in diet were apparent, with larger individuals of myctophid and bathylagid species consuming larger prey. Linear mixed effects models also demonstrated that the weight of prey consumed increased in relation to predator weight. Dietary information presented here advances our understanding of the mesopelagic components of Southern Ocean food webs, which will improve the development of food web models for the region. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Riaz, J Walters, A Trebilco, R Bestley, S Lea, M-A |
author_facet |
Riaz, J Walters, A Trebilco, R Bestley, S Lea, M-A |
author_sort |
Riaz, J |
title |
Stomach content analysis of mesopelagic fish from the southern Kerguelen Axis |
title_short |
Stomach content analysis of mesopelagic fish from the southern Kerguelen Axis |
title_full |
Stomach content analysis of mesopelagic fish from the southern Kerguelen Axis |
title_fullStr |
Stomach content analysis of mesopelagic fish from the southern Kerguelen Axis |
title_full_unstemmed |
Stomach content analysis of mesopelagic fish from the southern Kerguelen Axis |
title_sort |
stomach content analysis of mesopelagic fish from the southern kerguelen axis |
publisher |
Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2019.104659 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/135310 |
geographic |
Southern Ocean Kerguelen Indian |
geographic_facet |
Southern Ocean Kerguelen Indian |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica antarcticus Southern Ocean Copepods |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica antarcticus Southern Ocean Copepods |
op_relation |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2019.104659 Riaz, J and Walters, A and Trebilco, R and Bestley, S and Lea, M-A, Stomach content analysis of mesopelagic fish from the southern Kerguelen Axis, Deep-Sea Research Part II, 174 Article 104659. ISSN 0967-0645 (2019) [Refereed Article] http://ecite.utas.edu.au/135310 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2019.104659 |
container_title |
Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography |
container_volume |
174 |
container_start_page |
104659 |
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1766171357898342400 |