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Feeding habits of young bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) in the Bay of Biscay inferred from stomach-content and stable-isotope analyses

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 October 2014

José Luis Varela ,
Enrique Rodríguez-Marín ,
Marta Ruiz  and
Antonio Medina
José Luis Varela*
Affiliation:
Departamento de Biología, Universidad de Cádiz, Campus de Excelencia Internacional del Mar (CEI·MAR), Avenida República Saharaui s/n, 11510 Puerto Real, Cádiz, Spain Departamento Central de Investigación, Universidad Laica Eloy Alfaro de Manabí, Avenida de Circunvalación, Manta, Ecuador
Enrique Rodríguez-Marín
Affiliation:
Centro Oceanográfico de Santander, Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO), Promontorio de San Martín s/n, 30860, Santander, Spain
Marta Ruiz
Affiliation:
Centro Oceanográfico de Santander, Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO), Promontorio de San Martín s/n, 30860, Santander, Spain
Antonio Medina
Affiliation:
Departamento de Biología, Universidad de Cádiz, Campus de Excelencia Internacional del Mar (CEI·MAR), Avenida República Saharaui s/n, 11510 Puerto Real, Cádiz, Spain
*
Correspondence should be addressed to:J.L. Varela, Departamento Central de Investigación, Universidad Laica Eloy Alfaro de Manabí, Avenida de Circunvalación, Manta, Ecuador email: joseluis.varela@uca.es
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Abstract

The diet of young Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) in the Bay of Biscay foraging ground was assessed using stomach-content analysis (SCA) and stable-isotope analysis coupled with isotope mixing model. Whereas SCA showed that the young tuna fed mainly on horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus), the estimation of liver and muscle mixing model analyses indicated that northern krill (Meganyctiphanes norvegica) was the most important food resource. These contrasting observations are probably due to the different time scales spanned by the different methods. The present results suggest that young bluefin tuna prey at different trophic levels of the Bay of Biscay pelagic food web, thus behaving as an opportunist and generalist predator.

Keywords

Atlantic bluefin tunaBay of Biscaydietstomach contentstable isotopeisotope mixing model
Type
Research Article
Information
Marine Biodiversity Records , Volume 7 , 2014 , e119
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2014 

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References

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