Feeding habits and trophic level of the smooth hammerhead shark, Sphyrna zygaena (Carcharhiniformes: Sphyrnidae), off Ecuador

As apex predators, sharks are known to play an important role in marine food webs. Detailed information on their diet and trophic level is however needed to make clear inferences about their role in the ecosystem. A total of 335 stomachs of smooth hammerhead sharks, Sphyrna zygaena, were obtained from commercial fishing vessels operating in the Ecuadorian Pacific between January and December 2004. A total of 53 prey items were found in the stomachs. According to the Index of Relative Importance (%IRI), cephalopods were the main prey (Dosidicus gigas, Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis, Ancistrocheirus lesueurii and Lolliguncula [Loliolopsis] diomedeae). Sphyrna zygaena was thus confirmed to be a teutophagous species. The estimated trophic level of S. zygaena was between 4.6 and 5.1 (mean ± SD: 4.7 ± 0.16; males: 4.7; females: 4.8). Levin's index (BA) was low (overall: 0.07; males: 0.08; females: 0.09), indicating a narrow trophic niche. We found that sharks <150 cm in total length consumed prey of coastal origin, whereas sharks ≥150 cm foraged in oceanic waters and near the continental shelf. The analyses indicate that S. zygaena is a specialized predator consuming mainly squids.

• Publication year

  2018

• Venue

  Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom

• Publication date

  2018-07-13

• Fields of study

  Biology, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1017/S0025315418000474
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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