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Trophic spectrum of the sailfish Istiophorus platypterus caught off Acapulco in the southern Mexican Pacific

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 November 2012

Sandra Berenice Hernández-Aguilar ,
Leonardo Andrés Abitia-Cárdenas ,
Xchel Gabriel Moreno-Sánchez ,
Marcial Arellano-Martínez  and
Eduardo González-Rodríguez
Sandra Berenice Hernández-Aguilar
Affiliation:
Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Avenida Instituto Politécnico Nacional s/n, Apartado Postal 592, La Paz, Baja California Sur, México, C.P. 23096
Leonardo Andrés Abitia-Cárdenas*
Affiliation:
Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Avenida Instituto Politécnico Nacional s/n, Apartado Postal 592, La Paz, Baja California Sur, México, C.P. 23096
Xchel Gabriel Moreno-Sánchez
Affiliation:
Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Avenida Instituto Politécnico Nacional s/n, Apartado Postal 592, La Paz, Baja California Sur, México, C.P. 23096
Marcial Arellano-Martínez
Affiliation:
Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Avenida Instituto Politécnico Nacional s/n, Apartado Postal 592, La Paz, Baja California Sur, México, C.P. 23096
Eduardo González-Rodríguez
Affiliation:
Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada (CICESE), Unidad La Paz, Miraflores N0. 334 e/ Mulege y La Paz, La Paz Baja California Sur, México, C.P. 23050
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: L.A. Abitia-Cárdenas, Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Avenida Instituto Politécnico Nacional s/n, Apartado Postal 592, La Paz, Baja California Sur, México, C.P. 23096 email: [email protected]
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Abstract

The sailfish Istiophorus platypterus is one of the most common billfish species in the Mexican Pacific. Information about its feeding habits in the coastal region of Acapulco, Guerrero is extremely limited. In the present study we quantified the diet of sailfish, based on captures made from March 2008 to December 2009 by the sport fishing fleet of Acapulco. We analysed a total of 561 stomachs, of which 254 contained food (45%). The size interval of examined specimens was between 101 and 212 cm postorbital length and between 15 and 47 kg total weight. In general, teleosts were the most important prey, followed by cephalopods. According to index of relative importance, the most important species in the diet were the fish Auxis thazard (63.04%) and Fistularia commersonii (6.62%), followed by the cephalopod Octopus spp. (4.58%). There were no significant differences in the diet by sex (males and females), sexual maturity (immature and mature), or by season (warm and cold seasons). In all cases the most important prey species was A. thazard. We conclude that the sailfish I. platypterus off Acapulco behaves as a specialist predator because, despite the consumption of a high number of prey items, it feeds preferentially on a reduced number of prey species that form schools, and are available and abundant in the ocean.

Keywords

Istiophorus platypterustrophic spectrumsport fishingMexican Pacific
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 93 , Issue 4 , June 2013 , pp. 1097 - 1104
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2012 

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