Abstract
Our knowledge of deepwater ecosystems along the Pacific of Central America is extremely limited. We analyzed the diet composition of 200 adult specimens of Lophiodes spilurus ranging in size from 7.8 to 17.8 cm total length (TL). Samples were obtained from deep bottom trawls (depth: 105-238 m) along the central Pacific of Costa Rica. We calculated the percentage of number (% N), weight (% W), and occurrence (% O) of each food item encountered in the stomachs; based on this information, the Index of Relative Importance (IR) was calculated. Moreover, we estimated diet overlap for three different size classes (<10.1, 10.1-15.0 and > 15.1 cm TL). The results revealed exclusively two groups of benthic prey items: crustaceans (30%) and teleost fish (70%) in their diet. The most frequent preys were pandalid shrimps Plesionika trispinus (% O = 17) and the fathom mora Physiculus rastrelliger (% O = 12). The greatest diversity and frequency of abundance of food items was observed in intermediate-sized individuals (10.1-15.0 cm TL). Small-sized L. spilurus (< 10.1 cm TL) fed mainly on teleost fish, while larger (> 15.0 cm TL) preyed on large-sized stomatopods and teleost fish. There was a clear diet overlap between small and intermediate-sized L. spilurus (p < 0.05). However, differences in diet-overlap were not detected in small and large-sized individuals or intermediate and large-sized specimens (p > 0.05). Our results suggest that L. spilurus feeds exclusively on crustaceans (Decapoda and Stomatopoda) and benthic teleost fish along the Pacific of Costa Rica. While small and large-sized individuals showed a more pronounced selectivity for certain prey items, the high diversity of benthic prey items observed in intermediate-sized specimens suggest a more opportunistic foraging behavior.
Highlights
The threadfin anglerfish Lophiodes spilurus (Garman 1899) is a small deepwater benthic anglerfish commonly found on soft sand and mud bottoms in continental waters of the tropical Eastern Pacific (Bussing and López 1993, Allen and Robertson 1994, Nelson 1994)
The largest number of stomachs with at least a single prey item was observed in intermediatesized individuals (10.1-15.0 cm total length (TL)) (Fig. 3)
The threadfin angler L. spilurus is one of the most common species associated with the deepwater shrimp fishery along the Pacific coast of Costa Rica (Wehrtmann, unpubl. data)
Summary
The threadfin anglerfish Lophiodes spilurus (Garman 1899) is a small deepwater benthic anglerfish commonly found on soft sand and mud bottoms in continental waters of the tropical Eastern Pacific (Bussing and López 1993, Allen and Robertson 1994, Nelson 1994). Quantitative analyses of stomach contents provide an important tool to understand and elucidate predator-prey interactions (Cortés 1997, Dávalos and Gonzáles 2003), feeding behavior patterns (Preciado et al 2006), and ontogenetic shifts (Armstrong et al 1996). The threadfin anglerfish L. spilurus is one of the most abundant fish associated with commercial deepwater shrimp fisheries along the coast of Costa Rica. We provide a quantitative description of the diet of the threadfin anglerfish L. spilurus from the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, and study size-related dietary changes and food overlap. The results of the present investigation will increased our understanding of the diet composition and feeding patterns of the threadfin anglerfish L. spilurus in deepwater benthic ecosystems of the Pacific of Costa Rica
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