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Marine Ecology Progress Series

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MEPS 534:179-198 (2015)  -  DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps11375

Trophodynamics and diet overlap of small pelagic fish species in the Bay of Biscay

Eneko Bachiller1,2,*, Xabier Irigoien1,3

1Marine Research Division, AZTI Foundation, Herrera Kaia Portualdea, z/g 20110, Pasaia (Gipuzkoa), Spain
2Present address: Pelagic Fish Research Group, Institute of Marine Research (IMR), PO Box 1870, Nordnes 33, 5817 Bergen, Norway 3Present address: King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Red Sea Research Center, 23955-6900 Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
*Corresponding author:

ABSTRACT: Small pelagic fish are the link between planktonic production and higher trophic levels. Competition for resources may play a role in the population dynamics of species, some of them probably standing out from the others due to greater feeding success. It is therefore important to understand the trophic niche of species overlapping both spatially and temporally. In this study, we have investigated the diet, prey preference, trophic niche breadth and diet overlap of the 8 major small pelagic species (anchovy, sardine, sprat, Atlantic and Mediterranean horse mackerel, bogue, Atlantic mackerel and Atlantic chub mackerel) inhabiting the Bay of Biscay. Results indicate that all fish feed mainly on calanoid copepods, incorporating larger prey like euphausiids and decapods to complete their diet. Differences in ingested prey diversity seem to be more limited by the available zooplankton at sea than by a specific diet preference by fish species, resulting in an overall high diet overlap, especially within clupeids but also between clupeids and other (larger) predator species. Consumption estimations for different prey groups could therefore determine whether such a large diet overlap between small pelagic fish, together with spatial co-occurrence, results in competition or enhances the effects of intraguild predation, which is important in terms of an ecosystem approach to fisheries management.


KEY WORDS: Diet composition · Prey preference · Diet overlap · Small pelagic fish · Bay of Biscay


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Cite this article as: Bachiller E, Irigoien X (2015) Trophodynamics and diet overlap of small pelagic fish species in the Bay of Biscay. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 534:179-198. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps11375

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