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

BARBINI, SANTIAGO A.; LUCIFORA, LUIS O.; BARBINI, SANTIAGO A.; LUCIFORA, LUIS O.

NEOTROPICAL ICHTHYOLOGY

SOC BRASILEIRA ICTIOLOGIA

Lugar: Porto Alegre; Año: 2016 vol. 14

1679-6225

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); }Theeyespot skate,Atlantorajacyclophora,is an endemicspecies from the southwestern Atlantic, occurring from Rio deJaneiro, Brazil,to northern Patagonia, Argentina. The feeding habits of thisspecies,from off Uruguay 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. Onthe other hand, the consumption of teleosts increased with body size.Mature individuals preyed more heavily on crabs than immatureindividuals. Teleosts were consumed more in the south region (34º ?38ºS) and crabs in the north region (38º ? 41ºS). Shrimps wereeaten more in the warm season than in the cold season. Prey sizeincreased with increasing body size of A.cyclophora,but large individuals also consumed small teleosts and crabs.Atlantorajacyclophorahas demersal-benthic feeding habits, shifts its diet with increasingbody size and in response to seasonal and regional changes in preyavailability and distribution.