MEPS 726:113-130 (2024)  -  DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps14487

ABSTRACT: The exploitation of marine resources has caused drastic declines of many large predatory fishes. Amongst these, sharks are of major conservation concern due to their high vulnerability to overfishing and their ecological role as top predators. The 2 protected and endangered shark species tope Galeorhinus galeus and smooth hammerhead Sphyrna zygaena use overlapping coastal areas around the globe as essential fish habitats, but data to assess their trophic ecology and niche partitioning are scarce. We provide the first comparative assessment of the trophic ecology, ontogenetic shifts, and niche partitioning of the co-occurring tope and juvenile smooth hammerhead around the Azores Islands, mid-north Atlantic, based on δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, and δ³⁴S (CNS) stable isotope analysis of muscle tissue of the sharks and their putative prey species. Overall, isotopic niches of both species indicated a reliance on similar resources throughout the sampled sizes (tope: 35-190; smooth hammerhead 54-159 cm total length), with significant ontogenetic shifts. Topes displayed a gradual shift to higher trophic levels and a more generalist diet with increasing size (increasing δ¹⁵N values and isotopic niche volumes, respectively), whereas smooth hammerhead diet shifted towards prey with lower δ³⁴S at a constant trophic level and a more specialized diet than tope of comparable body size (decreasing δ³⁴S and constant δ¹⁵N and δ¹³C values, respectively). Our results indicate contrasting ontogenetic shifts in δ¹³C and δ³⁴S along with pronounced differences between niche overlap of life stages pointing to intra- and interspecific niche partitioning of habitat and prey.

KEY WORDS: Sphyrna zygaena · Galeorhinus galeus · Carbon · Nitrogen · Sulfur · Stable isotope analysis · Isotopic niche · Essential fish habitats · Shark nursery

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Cite this article as: Priester CR, Dierking J, Hansen T, Abecasis D, Fontes JM, Afonso P (2024) Trophic ecology and coastal niche partitioning of two sympatric shark species in the Azores (mid-Atlantic). Mar Ecol Prog Ser 726:113-130. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps14487 Export citation Share:    Facebook - - linkedIn