Diet composition and feeding habits of the eyespot skate, Atlantoraja cyclophora (Elasmobranchii, Rajidae), off Uruguay and north Argentina

SANTIAGO A. BARBINI; LUIS O. LUCIFORA

NEOTROPICAL ICHTHYOLOGY

SOC BRASILEIRA ICTIOLOGIA

Lugar: Porto Alegre; Año: 2016 vol. 14

1679-6225

p { margin-bottom: 0.25cm; line-height: 120%; }The eyespot skate,Atlantoraja cyclophora, is an endemic species from the southwesternAtlantic, occurring from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to northernPatagonia, Argentina. The feeding habits of this species, from offUruguay and north Argentina, were evaluated using a multiplehypothesis modelling approach. In general, the diet was composedmainly of decapod crustaceans, followed by teleost fishes. Molluscs,mysidaceans, amphipods, isopods, lancelets and elasmobranchs wereconsumed in lower proportion. The consumption of shrimps drecreasedwith increasing body size of A. cyclophora. On the other hand, theconsumption of teleosts increased with body size. Mature individualspreyed more heavily on crabs than immature individuals. Teleosts wereconsumed more in the south region (34º ? 38ºS) and crabs in thenorth region (38º ? 41ºS). Shrimps were eaten more in the warmseason than in the cold season. Prey size increased with increasingbody size of A. cyclophora, but large individuals also consumed smallteleosts and crabs. Atlantoraja cyclophora has demersal-benthicfeeding habits, shifts its diet with increasing body size and inresponse to seasonal and regional changes in prey availability anddistribution.p { margin-bottom: 0.25cm; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 10); line-height: 120%; text-align: left; }p.western { font-family: "Liberation Serif",serif; font-size: 12pt; }p.cjk { font-family: "Droid Sans Fallback"; font-size: 12pt; }p.ctl { font-family: "FreeSans"; font-size: 12pt; }a:link { color: rgb(0, 0, 255); }