Temporal changes in feeding habits and daily rations of Hoplostethus mediterraneus in the bathyal Ionian Sea (eastern Mediterranean)

Spatio-temporal changes in gut contents and stable isotopes in two deep Mediterranean pandalids: influence on the reproductive cycle

“…5b). Thus, the higher energetic requirements of P. martia for reproduction in summer seem to be met by an increase in the caloric content of its diet, which is different from the pattern in some deep-sea fishes such as Hoplostethus mediterraneus in the Ionian sea (Madurell & Cartes 2005) and 3 bathyal and abyssal macrourids (Coryphaenoides spp.) in the NE Pacific (Drazen 2002).…”

“…Changes in diet are coupled with changes in caloric content and with requirements for greater energy, as observed for a number of deep-sea species (Madurell & Cartes 2005. There is a general increase in seasonality of reproductive patterns with depth in pandalid shrimps (Company & Sardà 1997); maximum abundance of mature females in Plesionika martia occurred in summer, while in P. heterocarpus there was a more continuous reproductive pattern.…”

“…Bathyal communities are sustained by plankton more than by benthos in oligotrophic areas such as the Ionian Sea (e.g. Madurell & Cartes 2005) and around the Balearic Islands, where river discharges, for instance, are minimal. Stomach contents showed a more planktonic diet in P. martia, the deeper species, In accordance with high fluctuations in planktonic prey availability, 13 C signatures changed more markedly over the year in P. martia than in P. heterocarpus.…”

“…prey availability; changes in productivity and oceanographic conditions) on the trophic requirements and life history of a species. As found for deep water fish in the Ionian Sea (Madurell & Cartes 2005) and for the red shrimp Aristeus antennatus in the Balearic basin , changes in both the availability and nature of prey may constitute the main factors affecting food consumption and probably the reproductive cycle of Plesionika species.…”

Feeding Habits of Both Deep-Water Red Shrimps, Aristaeomorpha foliacea and Aristeus antennatus (Decapoda, Aristeidae) in the Ionian Sea (E. Mediterranean)

“…Besides the Seasonal feeding adaptation to the biological requirements, the food availability also plays an important role for this species in the Greek Ionian Sea. Madurell & Cartes (2005) point out that, in the same study area, the suprabenthos fauna (mysids, cumaceans, amphipods, isopods, and tanaidaceans) showed the highest densities in spring, while the zooplankton fauna (chiefly copepods, ostracods and chaetognaths) was more abundant in autumn and summer. In agreement with the results of the present study, the above fluctuations of food availability are also shown in the diet of A. antennatus.…”