Diets of five important predatory mesopelagic fishes of the central North Pacific

The diets of 5 large predatory mesopelagic fishes—Alepisaurus ferox (longnosed lancetfish), Gempylus serpens (snake mackerel), Lepidocybium flavobrunneum (Smith's escolar), and Lampris spp. (big-eye and small-eye opah, or moonfish)—from the central North Pacific Ocean (around Hawaii) were examined (n = 430, all species combined), most for the first time. Recent analysis of fishery data has shown that many of these species have been undergoing decadal increases in abundance, suggesting system-wide changes. A. ferox diet was numerically dominated by hyperiid amphipods from 3 genera (Phrosina, Phronima, Platyscelus; 37%N), pelagic polychaete worms, mesopelagic fishes (including young A. ferox size classes), and cephalopods. G. serpens fed primarily on epipelagic fishes (exocoetids, molids) and ommastrephid squids. Diets of the 2 Lampris species were the most similar to one another, consisting of large numbers and frequent occurrences of the onychoteuthid squid Walvisteuthis youngorum and a diverse assemblage of epipelagic and mesopelagic fishes. More than 90% of the L. flavobruneum stomachs were without food items; small numbers of prey identified included the ommastrephid squid Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis, aristeid shrimps, and unidentified fishes. The diet descriptions support the idea that these predatory fishes carve out unique ecological niches in the pelagic envi- ronment by exploiting unique components of micronekton communities across epipelagic and mesopelagic depth zones. Adult size classes of tunas and billfishes occupying a shared vertical habitat do not appear to compete for prey resources to any great extent, perhaps allowing for suc- cessful partitioning of limited prey resources within an oligotrophic gyre ecosystem.

[1]  J. Ramsey,et al.  Reliability in Measuring Diet Overlap , 1983 .

[2]  T. Okutani,et al.  Squids eaten by lancetfish and tunas in the tropical Indo-Pacific oceans , 1988 .

[3]  Robert J. Olson,et al.  Apex Predation by Yellowfïn Tuna (Thunnus albacares): Independent Estimates from Gastric Evacuation and Stomach Contents, Bioenergetics, and Cesium Concentrations , 1986 .

[4]  Thomas W. Schoener,et al.  Nonsynchronous Spatial Overlap of Lizards in Patchy Habitats , 1970 .

[5]  Mark John Costello.  Predator feeding strategy and prey importance: a new graphical analysis. , 1990 .

[6]  R. Brock.  A Contribution to the Trophic Biology of the Blue Marlin (Makaira nigricans Lacepede, 1802) in Hawaii , 1984 .

[7]  J. Drazen,et al.  Plastic for dinner? Observations of frequent debris ingestion by pelagic predatory fishes from the central North Pacific , 2013 .

[8]  K. Yokawa,et al.  Feeding ecology of the swordfish Xiphias gladius in the subtropical region and transition zone of the western North Pacific , 2009 .

[9]  S. Hurlbert.  The Measurement of Niche Overlap and Some Relatives , 1978 .

[10]  J. F. Walters,et al.  MESOPELAGIC MICRONEKTONIN HAWAIIANWATERS: FAUNAL COMPOSITION, STANDING STOCK, AND DIEL VERTICAL MIGRATION , 1975 .

[11]  M. Nei,et al.  MEGA4: Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis (MEGA) software version 4.0. , 2007, Molecular biology and evolution.

[12]  I. Nakamura,et al.  FAO species catalogue. v. 15: snake mackerels and cutlassfishes of the world (families Gempylidae and Trichiuridae). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of the Snake Mackerels, Snoeks, Escolars, Gemfishes, Sackfishes, Domine, Oilfish, Cutlassfishes, Scabbardfishes, Hairtails and Frostfishes known , 1993 .

[13]  C. R. Robins,et al.  Smiths’ Sea Fishes , 1986, Springer Berlin Heidelberg.

[14]  I. Nakamura,et al.  Fao Species Catalogue , 1972 .

[15]  Melanie Abecassis,et al.  Increases in the relative abundance of mid-trophic level fishes concurrent with declines in apex predators in the subtropical North Pacific, 1996–2006 , 2009 .

[16]  Natalia Ivanova,et al.  Universal primer cocktails for fish DNA barcoding , 2007 .

[17]  H. Kohno,et al.  Stomach contents of longnose lancetfish, Alepisaurus ferox, in Hawaiian and central equatorial Pacific waters , 1993 .

[18]  B. Popp,et al.  The influence of depth on mercury levels in pelagic fishes and their prey , 2009, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[19]  D. Siegel-Causey,et al.  Hyperiid amphipods (Amphipoda, Hyperiidea) of the world oceans , 1996 .

[20]  J. Polovina,et al.  Vertical movement and habitat of opah (Lampris guttatus) in the central North Pacific recorded with pop-up archival tags , 2008 .

[21]  M. Potier,et al.  Variability in conspecific predation among longnose lancetfish Alepisaurus ferox in the western Indian Ocean , 2008, Fisheries Science.

[22]  G. Jackson,et al.  Diet of the southern opah Lampris immaculatus on the Patagonian Shelf; the significance of the squid Moroteuthis ingens and anthropogenic plastic , 2000 .

[23]  J. Polovina,et al.  Spatiotemporal variability in bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus) dive behavior in the central North Pacific Ocean , 2010 .

[24]  M. Clarke.  A Handbook for the identification of cephalopod beaks , 1986 .

[25]  Magnuson,et al.  GILL RAKER APPARATUS AND FOOD SELECTIVITY AMONG MACKERELS, TUNAS, AND DOLPHINS , 2004 .

[26]  M. Nei,et al.  Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis , 2007 .

[27]  L. Frank,et al.  Evidence for cranial endothermy in the opah (Lampris guttatus) , 2009, Journal of Experimental Biology.

[28]  P. Kuhnert,et al.  Predicting fish diet composition using a bagged classification tree approach: a case study using yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) , 2012 .

[29]  Y. Cherel,et al.  Role of pelagic crustaceans in the diet of the longnose lancetfish Alepisaurus ferox in the Seychelles waters , 2007 .

[30]  J. Randall.  Reef and Shore Fishes of the Hawaiian Islands , 2007 .

[31]  D. Kerstetter,et al.  Behavior of an Escolar Lepidocybium flavobrunneum in the Windward Passage as Determined by Popup Satellite Archival Tagging , 2008 .

[32]  O. Maury,et al.  Forage fauna in the diet of three large pelagic fishes (lancetfish, swordfish and yellowfin tuna) in the western equatorial Indian Ocean , 2007 .

[33]  K. Carpenter,et al.  FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the Western Central Pacific. Volume 5. Bony fishes part 3 (Menidae to Pomacentridae) , 2001 .

[34]  J. Drazen,et al.  The influence of a Hawaiian seamount on mesopelagic micronekton , 2009 .

[35]  R. Olson,et al.  Food habits and consumption rates of common dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus) in the eastern Pacific Ocean , 2002 .

[36]  Barbara A. Block,et al.  Horizontal movements and depth distribution of large adult yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) near the Hawaiian Islands, recorded using ultrasonic telemetry: implications for the physiological ecology of pelagic fishes , 1999 .

[37]  C. Lalas,et al.  Distribution and biomass of two squid species off southern New Zealand: Nototodarus sloanii and Moroteuthis ingens , 2000, Polar Biology.

[38]  J. Polovina,et al.  Modeling swordfish daytime vertical habitat in the North Pacific Ocean from pop-up archival tags , 2012 .

[39]  A. Whitelaw,et al.  Feeding ecology and interannual variations in diet of southern bluefin tuna, Thunnus maccoyii, in relation to coastal and oceanic waters off eastern Tasmania, Australia , 1997, Environmental Biology of Fishes.

[40]  K. Tsuchiya,et al.  Composition of piscine prey in the diet of large pelagic fish in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean , 2001 .

[41]  M. Musyl,et al.  Pelagic longline gear depth and shoaling , 2006 .

[42]  K. Carpenter,et al.  Bony fishes part 4 (labridae to latimeriidae), estuarine crocodiles, sea turtles, sea snakes and marine mammals , 2001 .

[43]  K. Satoh.  Occurrence of Phronima sedentaria (Forskål, 1775) (Amphipoda, Hyperiidea) in the stomach of the longnose lancetfish, Alepisaurus ferox (Lowe, 1833) (Aulopiformes, Alepisauroidei) in the North and tropical Atlantic Ocean , 2004 .

[44]  Kim N. Holland,et al.  A rapid ontogenetic shift in the diet of juvenile yellowfin tuna from Hawaii , 2006 .

[45]  Y. Cherel,et al.  New information from fish diets on the importance of glassy flying squid (Hyaloteuthis pelagica) (Teuthoidea: Ommastrephidae) in the epipelagic cephalopod community of the tropical Atlantic Ocean , 2006 .

[46]  T. Kubota,et al.  Food Habits of Lancetfish Alepisaurus ferox (Order Myctophiformes) in Suruga Bay, Japan , 1970 .

[47]  J. Polovina,et al.  Fishery-Induced Changes in the Subtropical Pacific Pelagic Ecosystem Size Structure: Observations and Theory , 2013, PloS one.

[48]  C. Boggs,et al.  Hawaii's Pelagic Fisheries , 1993 .

[49]  V. Ridoux,et al.  Feeding niche segregation among the Northeast Atlantic community of oceanic top predators , 2008 .

[50]  K. Carpenter,et al.  Batoid fishes, chimaeras and bony fishes part 1 (elopidae to linophrynidae) , 1999 .

[51]  R. Young.  Vertical distribution and photosensitive vesicles of pelagic cephalopods from Hawaiian waters , 1978 .

[52]  J. Drazen,et al.  Micronekton abundance and biomass in Hawaiian waters as influenced by seamounts, eddies, and the moon , 2011 .

[53]  F. Juanes,et al.  Feeding ecology and niche segregation in oceanic top predators off eastern Australia , 2010 .

[54]  R. Haedrich,et al.  Fishes eaten by Alepisaurus (Pisces, Iniomi) in the southeastern Pacific Ocean , 1966 .

[55]  Claudia E. Mills,et al.  Pacific Coast Pelagic Invertebrates: A Guide to the Common Gelatinous Animals , 1998 .