Diet of the white-dotted skate, Bathyraja albomaculata, in waters of Argentina

NATALIA L. RUOCCO; LUIS O. LUCIFORA; JUAN M. DÍAZ DE ASTARLOA; CLAUDIA S. BREMEC

JOURNAL OF APPLIED ICHTHYOLOGY-ZEITSCHRIFT FUR ANGEWANDTE ICHTHYOLOGIE

Blackwell

Año: 2009 p. 94 - 97

0175-8659

The present paper analyzes the diet, feeding strategy and niche width of Bathyraja albomaculata over the Patagonian continental shelf and upper slope. The diet comprised a variety of fourteen small invertebrates, although the most important prey were polychaete worms. The opheliid polychaete Travisia sp. and the gammarid amphipod Cirolana sp. were the main prey present in stomach contents of B. albomaculata. No differences were found between the diet of males and females, however ontogenetic changes were detected. Skates 40 cm DW consumed largely polychaetes. As size increased, polychaetes became more important and the importance of amphipods decreased. B. albomaculata showed a narrow food niche and a marked specialization towards polychaetes.