Feeding Ecology of Coryphaenoides rupestris from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Odd Aksel Bergstad,Guro Gjelsvik,Christoffer Schander,Åge S Høines

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0010453

Odd Aksel Bergstad, Guro Gjelsvik + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0010453

Copy DOI

Abstract

The Macrourid fish roundnose grenadier, Coryphaenoides rupestris, is one of the most common benthopelagic fishes on the northern mid-Atlantic Ridge. The ecology of the species is comparatively well studied in continental slope waters of the North Atlantic, but not on the mid-Atlantic Ridge, which is a central mid-ocean area of its distribution. In total, 166 specimens from the RV G.O. Sars cruise in July 2004 were examined. The diet mainly comprised cephalopods, pelagic shrimps and fish. Pelagic and benthopelagic copepods were the most numerous prey, but did not contribute much on a weight basis. Cephalopods were by far the most important prey of the small grenadiers, while shrimps and fish became increasingly significant with increasing size. Previous studies from other areas have also found pelagic prey to be important, but in contrast to this study, cephalopods were generally of less importance. The study was an element of more wide-ranging food-web studies of the mid-Atlantic Ridge macro- and megafauna communities within the international MAR-ECO project.

Highlights

The mid-Atlantic Ridge, a section of the global system of midocean ridges, is a spectacular topographic feature of the Atlantic Ocean stretching from north of Iceland to the Southern Ocean, representing the spreading zone between the Eurasian and American continental plates
This study aims to derive information on diet composition and thereby trophic ecology of the grenadier by classical numerical and gravimetric analyses of the stomach contents
A total of 215 cephalopod beaks were found in the stomach contents, and 178 of these were identified to four species: Gonatus fabricii (153), Taonius/Teuthowenia sp., possibly Taonius pavo or Teuthowenia megalops (21), Histioteuthis reversa (3) and Todarodes sagittatus (1)

Summary

Introduction

The mid-Atlantic Ridge, a section of the global system of midocean ridges, is a spectacular topographic feature of the Atlantic Ocean stretching from north of Iceland to the Southern Ocean, representing the spreading zone between the Eurasian and American continental plates. Mid-ocean ridges have an extensive distribution and cover 22% of the Earth’s surface [1], these remote areas are largely unexplored. The knowledge about the animal communities and biology and ecology of individual species in these waters remains limited. The rugged terrain and great depths make the ridges challenging study areas. To learn more about animal life on the mid-Atlantic Ridge, the international project MAR-ECO was initiated in 2001 [2]. One of the main tasks was to identify trophic relationships and model food web patterns. To facilitate such analyses, feeding ecology data for a range of vertebrates and invertebrates were collected

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion