Preliminary analysis of the feeding habits of batoids from the genera &lt;i&gt;Mobula&lt;/i&gt; and &lt;i&gt;Myliobatis&lt;/i&gt; in Northern Peru

Javier Jesús Coasaca-Céspedes,Joanna Alfaro-Shigueto,Eduardo Segura-Cobeña,Adriana Gonzalez-Pestana,Eliana Alfaro-Córdova,Jeffrey C Mangel,Rebeca Montero-Taboada

doi:10.22370/rbmo.2018.53.3.1368

Abstract

Abstract.- This study provides baseline information on the feeding habits of five batoid species from the genera Mobula and Myliobatis sampled from the small-scale driftnet fishery in northern Peru. The diets of Mobula mobular, Mobula munkiana and Mobula thurstoni consisted mainly of euphausiids. Dietary niche breadth indicated a pelagic feeding behaviour of a specialist and a trophic level of a secondary predator for both M. mobular and M. munkiana. In contrast, Myliobatis chilensis and Myliobatis peruvianus consumed mostly gastropods and crustaceans. Dietary niche breadth indicated a feeding behaviour of a benthic specialist and a trophic level of a secondary predator for Myliobatis chilensis.

Highlights

Devil rays (Mobulidae) are distributed in tropical, subtropical and temperate coastal waters (Couturier et al 2012)
In Peru are found Mobula species included in the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) such as Mobula mobular (Bonnaterre, 1788), Mobula munkiana (Notarbartolo di Sciara, 1987) and Mobula thurstoni (Lloyd, 1908), with the first listed as Endangered (Notarbartolo di Sciara et al 2015) and the other two as Near Threatened (Bizzarro et al 2006, Walls et al 2016)
There are two species of eagle rays, Myliobatis chilensis (Philippi, 1892) and Myliobatis peruvianus (Garman, 1913), both of which are listed as Data Deficient by the IUCN (Lamilla 2006a, b)

Summary

Introduction

Devil rays (Mobulidae) are distributed in tropical, subtropical and temperate coastal waters (Couturier et al 2012). Eagle rays (Myliobatidae) are generally associated with sandy-muddy bottoms (Samamé et al 1985) and are considered benthic consumers, feeding mainly on crustaceans and gastropods (Jacobsen & Bennett 2013). In this region, there are two species of eagle rays, Myliobatis chilensis (Philippi, 1892) and Myliobatis peruvianus (Garman, 1913), both of which are listed as Data Deficient by the IUCN (Lamilla 2006a, b). The objective of this study was to describe the diet composition of these five batoid species in Northern Peru, through the analysis of their stomach contents

Objectives

Methods

Results