Diet and trophic position of the devil rays Mobula thurstoni and Mobula japanica as inferred from stable isotope analysis
- 2 June 2010
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
- Vol. 90 (5), 969-976
- https://doi.org/10.1017/s0025315410000548
Abstract
This study confirms the diet and determines the trophic position of the bentfin devil ray (Mobula thurstoni) and spinetail devil ray (Mobula japanica) in the south-west Gulf of California. There has been an active fishery in the area for these filter-feeding elasmobranchs, which are highly susceptible to exploitation due to low fecundity and long lifespan. However, information on their basic biology is scarce. δ13C and δ15N values of devil rays and zooplankton (sorted according to trophic level: herbivores, carnivores and omnivores) were determined over a period of 11 months, to allow for isotopic temporal variations in isotopic signals at the base of the food web. On the basis of fractionation factors we determined that bentfin and spinetail devil rays fed mainly on Nyctiphanes simplex, the most abundant euphausiid in neritic waters of the Gulf of California. The trophic positions obtained for the devil rays correspond to second level consumers.Keywords
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