MEPS 532:177-183 (2015) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps11327
DNA evidence of the consumption of short-beaked common dolphin Delphinus delphis by the shortfin mako shark Isurus oxyrinchus
Sebastián Biton Porsmoguer1,*, Daniela Banaru1, Charles F. Boudouresque1, Ivan Dekeyser1, Amélia Viricel3, Manuel Merchán2
ABSTRACT: Stomachs of shortfin mako sharks Isurus oxyrinchus caught in the northeastern Atlantic by Iberian longliners were analyzed. A number of juveniles, 6 out of 96 individuals with non-empty stomachs, had consumed marine mammals. The remains (skin, fat, vertebrae and flesh with the dorsal fin) were not identifiable at species level by non-genetic methods. Portions of the mitochondrial DNA control region and of the gene coding for cytochrome b were therefore sequenced. Both the short-beaked common dolphin Delphinus delphis and possibly the striped dolphin Stenella coeruleoalba were identified. Shortfin makos are able to consume marine mammals almost as large as themselves. Well-preserved D. delphis were juveniles.
KEY WORDS: Shortfin mako · Predator · Short-beaked common dolphin · DNA analysis
| Full text in pdf format | Cite this article as: Biton Porsmoguer S, Bănaru D, Boudouresque CF, Dekeyser I, Viricel A, Merchán M
(2015) DNA evidence of the consumption of short-beaked common dolphin Delphinus delphis by the shortfin mako shark Isurus oxyrinchus. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 532:177-183. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps11327
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