Energy Density Predictors for Argentine Anchovy Engraulis anchoita , a Key Species of the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean

CIANCIO, JAVIER ERNESTO; HARILLO, CAMILA; BARTES, SAIA; LANCELOTTI, JULIO; FERNÁNDEZ, SANTIAGO

TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN FISHERIES SOCIETY

AMER FISHERIES SOC

Año: 2020 vol. 149 p. 204 - 212

0002-8487

Forage fishes have a cosmopolitan distribution and constitute key species in marine trophic webs throughout the world. We estimated the energy density of the Argentine Anchovy (Engraulis anchoita), a key component of the base of the food web in a large fraction of the South Western Atlantic Ocean. We also examined the relationships between energy density and different proxies (condition factor, fork length, and percent dry weight) and compared the energy density?percent dry weight relationship of Argentine Anchovy to this relationship in other forage fishes. A regression model, that includes percent dry weight and fork length, was the best predictor for the energy density in this species. The Argentine Anchovy had similar energy density to percent dry weight compared to all Engraulidae species and most of Cupleidae family species. Engraulidae family fishes showed smaller mean energy density and smaller energy density to percent dry weight compared to the Cupleidae family species. The difference in energy density between these two families could have direct implications on population dynamics of predators in oscillating sardine-anchovy systems or in regions where these two families are spatially segregated.