Diet of red squid (Ommastrephes bartramii) in the Southwest Atlantic
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2004
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
The diet of red squid (Ommastrephes bartramii) during autumn 2001 and 2002 in the SW Atlantic region off Argentina and Uruguay (33° S-42° S;46° W-55° W) was composed mainly of fish (55-68%), followed by squid (32-37%) and zooplankton (8% only in 2001). Around 60% of the fish eaten was identified as myctophids and corresponded to five genera and seven species, with higher frequency of Hygophum hygomii (24-34%). The identification of squids consumed reached 20% in 2001 and 80% in 2002 and the only species identified was O. bartramii, which implies percentages of cannibalism of 5.6% and 25.8% each year. For the range analyzed, 141-443 mm of mantle length (ML), the consumption of fish and squid did not show any relation to the size of predator. In 2001 the presence of zooplankton wasrestricted to individuals smaller than 300 mm ML. The diversity of diet was low and stomachs with a single type of prey predominated both years 59% in 2001, 92% in 2002
Description
Keywords
Citation
Revista de Investigación y Desarrollo Pesquero, 16. p. 67-75