FOOD HABITS OF THREE SHARK SPECIES FROM THE MISSISSIPPI SOUND IN THE NORTHERN GULF OF MEXICO
Generate an AI Snapshot to get a quick, structured summary of this paper.
A concise AI-generated summary of the paper will appear here once you click Generate AI Snapshot.
TL;DR
All shark species exhibited a medium to high level of dietary overlap, with the highest level of overlap found between C. limbatus and C. isodon.
Abstract
Abstract Stomach contents were examined from 289 Atlantic sharpnose, Rhizoprionodon terraenovae, 120 blacktip, Carcharhinus limbatus, and 66 finetooth, Carcharhinus isodon, sharks collected from the Mississippi Sound, and the frequency of occurrence (% F) of each prey item was determined for each shark species. Rhizoprionodon terraenovae consumed the highest diversity of prey items, which included teleost fishes (67.0 %), crustaceans (37.0 %), mollusks (8.0 %) and elasmobranchs (2.5 %). Carcharhinus limbatus and C. isodon fed primarily on teleost fishes, which occurred in 94 % and 100 %, respectively, of stomachs that contained prey. All shark species exhibited a medium to high level of dietary overlap, with the highest level of overlap found between C. limbatus and C. isodon. An ontogenetic shift was observed in the dietary habits of R. terraenovae with young sharks feeding primarily on invertebrate prey (65.2 %), and adult sharks feeding primarily on teleosts (69.0 %) and elasmobranchs (5.8 %).