First assessment of the diet composition and trophic level of an assemblage of poorly known chondrichthyans off the central coast of Peru

Buried in the sand: Uncovering the ecological roles and importance of rays

“…Research on resource partitioning can broaden our understanding of species coexistence within the same geographic locations (Schoener, 1974), and there is evidence that ray species partition their resources (Barría et al, 2015;Belleggia, Scenna, Barbini, Figueroa, & Díaz De Astarloa, 2014;Bornatowski, Wosnick, Do Carmo, Corrêa, & Abilhoa, 2014 Zuazo, 2018;Stewart et al, 2017;Treloar, Laurie, Laurenson, & Stevens, 2007;Yemışken et al, 2018;Yick, Tracey, & White, 2011).…”

“…Research on resource partitioning can broaden our understanding of species coexistence within the same geographic locations (Schoener, 1974), and there is evidence that ray species partition their resources (Barría et al., 2015; Belleggia, Scenna, Barbini, Figueroa, & Díaz De Astarloa, 2014; Bornatowski, Wosnick, Do Carmo, Corrêa, & Abilhoa, 2014; Espinoza, Munroe, Clarke, Fisk, & Wehrtmann, 2015; Every, Pethybridge, Fulton, Kyne, & Crook, 2017; Navarro‐González, Bohórquez‐Herrera, Navia, & Cruz‐Escalona, 2012; Pardo, Burgess, Teixeira, & Bennett, 2015; Plate ll, Potter, & Clarke, 1998; Rastgoo et al., 2018; Shibuya, Araújo, & Zuanon, 2009; Silva‐Garay, Pacheco, & Vélez‐Zuazo, 2018; Stewart et al., 2017; Treloar, Laurie, Laurenson, & Stevens, 2007; Yemışken et al., 2018; Yick, Tracey, & White, 2011). For example, in Peru, the pygmy devil ray ( Mobula munkiana , Mobulidae) had minimal isotopic niche overlap with three other devil ray species ( M. birostris , M. mobular and M. thurstoni ), which suggests that the pygmy devil ray may be feeding in a different area or on a different prey source than the other species (Stewart et al., 2017).…”

Diet of the rasptail skate, Rostroraja velezi (Rajiformes: Rajidae), off Piura, Peru

“…The diet of R. velezi has been studied in Colombia, Costa Rica, and Mexico (Navia et al 2007, Espinoza et al 2012, Simental 2013, wherein demersal prey were found to prevail, mainly decapod crustaceans and small fish. In Peru, there are very few studies about the diet of batoids (Coasaca- Céspedes et al 2018, Silva-Garay et al 2018, and there are no studies regarding the diet of the rasptail skate. It is important to learn the feeding habits of this little-studied taxonomic group.…”

Diet composition of starry smooth‐hound Mustelus asterias and methodological considerations for assessing the trophic level of predatory fish

“…The use of CPCs in dietary studies is an important method for ensuring that sample sizes are adequate for describing the diet of a species. However, in many instances the combining of prey taxa into more generic taxonomic groups may result in an artificial finding of the asymptote being reached (Silva‐Garay et al ., ). In this study, a large range of crustaceans were identified to species‐level and the CPC (including all 68 prey categories) did not reach an asymptote, despite the large sample size.…”