Comparative diets of macrocrustacean species from the San Jorge Gulf, Argentina

Macrocrustaceans have a central role in marine food webs given that they often dominate benthic communities and serve as link between basal levels and top predators. The aim of the present study was to describe the diet of six macrocrustacean species (Eurypodius longirostris, Libidoclaea granaria,...

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Main Authors: Matias L. Vallejos, Martin A. Varisco
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo Pesquero (INIDEP) 2025-04-01
Series:Marine and Fishery Sciences
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Online Access:https://ojs.inidep.edu.ar/index.php/mafis/article/view/414
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author Matias L. Vallejos
Martin A. Varisco
author_facet Matias L. Vallejos
Martin A. Varisco
author_sort Matias L. Vallejos
collection DOAJ
description Macrocrustaceans have a central role in marine food webs given that they often dominate benthic communities and serve as link between basal levels and top predators. The aim of the present study was to describe the diet of six macrocrustacean species (Eurypodius longirostris, Libidoclaea granaria, Lithodes santolla, Grimothea gregaria, Peltarion spinosulus and Pterygosquilla armata) from San Jorge Gulf, Argentina. Stomach contents were analyzed in 331 individuals and the frequency of occurrence and relative abundance of the different prey items were estimated. Differences between the diets of the studied species were established by using an analysis of similarity (ANOSIM), and prey items responsible for dissimilarities were identified by a similarity percentage analysis (SIMPER). A high diet overlap was observed among most species, probably because crustaceans and particulate organic matter constituted very abundant prey items for the different species. The presence of sediment in the stomachs of E. longirostris, G. gregaria and P. spinosulus suggests that these species have a deposit feeding habit. The diet overlap may be the result of the generalist habit of species studied (except for P. armata). The deposit feeding strategy would be favoured by the high secondary productivity of the infaunal community of the San Jorge Gulf.
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spelling doaj-art-ce64935048b541dcbecb516e2d01ed942025-08-20T03:17:03ZengInstituto Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo Pesquero (INIDEP)Marine and Fishery Sciences2683-79512025-04-0138310.47193/mafis.3832025010703Comparative diets of macrocrustacean species from the San Jorge Gulf, ArgentinaMatias L. Vallejos0Martin A. Varisco1Instituto Multidisciplinario para la Investigación y el Desarrollo Productivo y Social de la Cuenca Golfo San Jorge (IIDEPyS-GSJ), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia San Juan Bosco (UNPSJB), Ruta Provincial Nº 1, km 4, Piso 4, Ciudad Universitaria, U9005 - Comodoro Rivadavia, ArgentinaInstituto Multidisciplinario para la Investigación y el Desarrollo Productivo y Social de la Cuenca Golfo San Jorge (IIDEPyS-GSJ), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia San Juan Bosco (UNPSJB), Ruta Provincial Nº 1, km 4, Piso 4, Ciudad Universitaria, U9005 - Comodoro Rivadavia, Argentina - Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia San Juan Bosco (UNPSJB), km 4, Ciudad Universitaria, U9005 - Comodoro Rivadavia, Argentina Macrocrustaceans have a central role in marine food webs given that they often dominate benthic communities and serve as link between basal levels and top predators. The aim of the present study was to describe the diet of six macrocrustacean species (Eurypodius longirostris, Libidoclaea granaria, Lithodes santolla, Grimothea gregaria, Peltarion spinosulus and Pterygosquilla armata) from San Jorge Gulf, Argentina. Stomach contents were analyzed in 331 individuals and the frequency of occurrence and relative abundance of the different prey items were estimated. Differences between the diets of the studied species were established by using an analysis of similarity (ANOSIM), and prey items responsible for dissimilarities were identified by a similarity percentage analysis (SIMPER). A high diet overlap was observed among most species, probably because crustaceans and particulate organic matter constituted very abundant prey items for the different species. The presence of sediment in the stomachs of E. longirostris, G. gregaria and P. spinosulus suggests that these species have a deposit feeding habit. The diet overlap may be the result of the generalist habit of species studied (except for P. armata). The deposit feeding strategy would be favoured by the high secondary productivity of the infaunal community of the San Jorge Gulf. https://ojs.inidep.edu.ar/index.php/mafis/article/view/414Feeding strategy, Diet overlap, Decapods, Stomatopods, Patagonia.
spellingShingle Matias L. Vallejos
Martin A. Varisco
Comparative diets of macrocrustacean species from the San Jorge Gulf, Argentina
Marine and Fishery Sciences
Feeding strategy, Diet overlap, Decapods, Stomatopods, Patagonia.
title Comparative diets of macrocrustacean species from the San Jorge Gulf, Argentina
title_full Comparative diets of macrocrustacean species from the San Jorge Gulf, Argentina
title_fullStr Comparative diets of macrocrustacean species from the San Jorge Gulf, Argentina
title_full_unstemmed Comparative diets of macrocrustacean species from the San Jorge Gulf, Argentina
title_short Comparative diets of macrocrustacean species from the San Jorge Gulf, Argentina
title_sort comparative diets of macrocrustacean species from the san jorge gulf argentina
topic Feeding strategy, Diet overlap, Decapods, Stomatopods, Patagonia.
url https://ojs.inidep.edu.ar/index.php/mafis/article/view/414
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