Food habits of the broad nose skate, <i>Bathyraja brachyurops</i> (Chondrichthyes, Rajidae), in the south-west Atlantic

Mauro Belleggia; Ezequiel Mabragaña; Daniel E. Figueroa; Lorena B. Scenna; Santiago A. Barbini; Juan M. Díaz de Astarloa

doi:10.3989/scimar.2008.72n4701

Authors

Mauro Belleggia Laboratorio de Ictiología, FCEyN, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMdP) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientíﬁcas y Técnicas (CONICET) - Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo Pesquero
Ezequiel Mabragaña Laboratorio de Ictiología, FCEyN, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMdP) - Museo del Mar
Daniel E. Figueroa Laboratorio de Ictiología, FCEyN, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMdP)
Lorena B. Scenna Laboratorio de Ictiología, FCEyN, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMdP) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientíﬁcas y Técnicas (CONICET)
Santiago A. Barbini Laboratorio de Ictiología, FCEyN, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMdP) - Comisión de Investigaciones Cientíﬁcas del Gobierno de la Provincia de Buenos Aires (CIC)
Juan M. Díaz de Astarloa Laboratorio de Ictiología, FCEyN, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMdP) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientíﬁcas y Técnicas (CONICET) - Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo Pesquero

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3989/scimar.2008.72n4701

Keywords:

Bathyraja, Argentina, broad nose skate, elasmobranchs, trophic ecology

Abstract

Food habits of Bathyraja brachyurops were studied based on stomach content analyses of 346 specimens collected from research cruises carried out from 2003 to 2005 on the Argentinean continental shelf (36ºS-55ºS). A total of 265 stomachs (76.6%) contained food, and thirty-five taxonomic levels of prey were identified. The most important prey were fishes followed by isopods. Trophic level analysis revealed that B. brachyurops is a tertiary consumer throughout its life history. There were no differences between sexes and regions in the diet composition, but dietary shifts with ontogeny were found. The Levins’ standardized index indicated wider niche breadth for small skates, whereas larger skate specimens showed a narrow niche breadth with a specialization in fishes.

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