Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Food habits of the longnose skate, Raja rhina (Jordan and Gilbert, 1880), in central California waters

  • Chapter
Biology of Skates

Part of the book series: Developments in Environmental Biology of Fishes 27 ((DEBF,volume 27))

  • 1031 Accesses

Abstract

Feeding studies can provide researchers with important insights towards understanding potential fishery impacts on marine systems. Raja rhina is one of the most common elasmobranch species landed in central and northern California demersal fisheries, yet life history information is extremely limited for this species and aspects of its diet are unknown. Specimens of R. rhina were collected between September, 2002 and August, 2003 from fisheries-independent trawl surveys. Percent Index of Relative Importance values indicated that the five most important prey items in 618 stomachs of R. rhina were unidentified teleosts (31.6% IRI), unidentified shrimps (19.6% IRI), unidentified euphausiids (10.9% IRI), Crangonidae (7.4% IRI), and Neocrangon resima (6.0% IRI). There were significant dietary shifts with increasing skate total length and with increasing depths. Smaller skates ate small crustaceans and larger skates ate larger fishes and cephalopods. With increasing depths, diet included bentho-pelagic teleosts and more cephalopods and euphausiids. The findings of this study are consistent with previous researchers that report similar diet shifts in skate species with size and depth.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Abd El-Aziz SH (1986) Food and feeding habits of Raja species (Batoidea) in the Mediterranean waters off Alexandria. Bull Inst Oceanogr Fish 12:265–276

    Google Scholar 

  • Adams J (2004) Foraging ecology and reproductive biology of Cassin’s Auklet (Ptychoramphus A aleuticus) in the California Channel Islands. Thesis (M.S.). California State University, San Francisco. 119 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Ajayi TO (1982) Food and feeding habits of Raja species (Batoidei) in Carmarthen Bay, Bristol Channel. J Mar Biol Assoc UK 62:215–223

    Google Scholar 

  • Allen MJ (2006) Chapter 7. Continental Shelf and Upper Slope. In: Allen LG, Pondella II DJ, Horn MH (eds) The ecology of marine fishes. California and adjacent waters. University of California Press, Berkeley, California, pp 167–202

    Google Scholar 

  • Barry JP, Yoklavich MM, Cailliet GM, Ambrose DA, Antrim BS (1996) Trophic ecology of the dominant fishes in Elkhorn Slough, California, 1974–1980. Estuaries 19:115–138

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berestovskiy EG (1989) Feeding on the skates, Raja radiata and Raja fyllae, in the Barents and Norwegian Seas. Voprosy Ikhtiologii 6:994–1002

    Google Scholar 

  • Braccini JM, Perez JE (2005) Feeding habits of the sandskate Psammobatis extenta (Garman, 1913): sources of variation in dietary composition. Mar Freshw Res 56:395–403

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Braccini JM, Gillanders BM, Walker TI (2005) Sources of variation in the feeding ecology of the piked spurdog (Squalus megalops): implications for inferring predator–prey interactions from overall dietary composition. ICES J Mar Sci 62:1076–1094

    Google Scholar 

  • Brickle P, Laptikhovsky V, Pompert J, Bishop A (2003) Ontogenetic changes in the feeding habits and dietary overlap between three abundant rajid species on the Falkland Islands’ Shelf. J Mar Biol Assoc UK 83:1119–1125

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cailliet GM, Barry JP (1978) Comparison of food array overlap measures useful in fish feeding habit analysis. In: Lipovsky SJ, Simenstad CA (eds) Fish food habit studies. Proceedings of the second Pacific Northwest Technical Workshop, pp 67–79

    Google Scholar 

  • Cailliet GM, Love MS, Ebeling AW (1986) Fishes: a field and laboratory manual on their structure, identification, and natural history. Waveland Press Inc., Prospect Heights, 186 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Compagno LJV (2005) Chapter 16: Checklist of living chondrichthyes. In: Hamlett WC (ed) Reproductive biology and phylogeny of chondrichthyes. Sharks, Batoids and Chimaeras. Science Publishers, Inc. Enfield, New Hampshire, pp 503–548

    Google Scholar 

  • Cortés E (1997) A critical review of methods of studying fish feeding based on analysis of stomach contents: application to elasmobranch fishes. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 54:726–738

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cortés E (1998) Methods of studying fish feeding: reply. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 55:2708

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cortés E (1999) Standardized diet compositions and trophic levels of sharks. ICES J Mar Sci 56:707–717

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crow ME (1979) Multivariate statistical analysis of stomach contents. In: Lipovsky SJ, Simenstad CA (eds) Fish food habit studies: proceedings of the second Pacific northwest technical workshop. Washington Sea Grant Program, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, pp 87–96

    Google Scholar 

  • Dolgov, AV (2005) Feeding and food consumption by the Barents Sea skates. e-Journal of Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Science 35: art. 34

    Google Scholar 

  • Ebert DA (2003) Sharks, rays, and chimaeras of California. University of California Press, Berkeley, California, 284 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Ebert DA (2005) Reproductive biology of skates, Bathyraja (Ishiyama), along the eastern Bering Sea continental slope. J Fish Biol 66:618–649

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ebert DA, Cowley PD, Compagno JV (1991) A preliminary investigation on the feeding ecology of skates (Batoidea: Rajidae) off the west coast of Southern Africa. South African J Mar Sci 10:71–81

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellis JR, Pawson MG, Shackley SE (1996) The comparative feeding ecology of six species of shark and four species of ray (Elasmobranchii) in the north-east Atlantic. J Mar Biol Assoc UK 76:89–106

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ezzat A, Abd El-Aziz SM, El-Gharabawy MM, Hussein MO (1987) The food of Raja miraletus Linnaeus, 1758 in Mediterranean waters off Alexandria. Bull Inst Oceanogr Fish 13:59–74

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferry LA, Cailliet GM (1996) Sample size and data analysis: are we characterizing and comparing diet properly? In: MacKinlay D, Shearer K (eds) Gutshop ‘96. Feeding ecology and nutrition in fish symposium proceedings. San Francisco State University, pp 71–80

    Google Scholar 

  • Hacunda JS (1981) Trophic relationships among demersal fishes in a costal area of the Gulf of Maine. Fish Bull 79:775–788

    Google Scholar 

  • Hansson S (1998) Methods of studying fish feeding: a comment. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 55:2706–2707

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holden MJ, Tucker RN (1974) The food of Raja clavata Linnaeus 1758, Raja montagui Fowler 1910, Raja naevus Muller and Henle 1841 and Raja brachyuran Lafont 1873 in British waters. Journal du Conseil International pour l’Exploration de la Mer 35:189–193

    Google Scholar 

  • Hyslop EJ (1980) Stomach content analysis – a review of methods and their application. J Fish Biol 17:411–429

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jordan DS, Gilbert CH (1880) Description of a new species of ray, RAIA RHINA, from the coast of California. Proceedings of the United States National Museum, pp 251–253

    Google Scholar 

  • Joyce WN, Campana SE, Natanson LJ, Kohler NE, Pratt HL Jr, Jensen CF (2002) Analysis of stomach contents of the porbeagle shark (Lamna nasus Bonnaterre) in the northwest Atlantic. ICES J Mar Sci 59:1263–1269

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kabasakal K (2002) Cephalopods in the stomach contents of four Elasmobranch species from the northern Aegean Sea. Acta Adriatica 43:17–24

    Google Scholar 

  • Koen Alonso M, Crespo EA, García NA, Pederaza SN, Mariotti PA, Berón Vera B, Mora NJ (2001) Food habits of Dipturus chilensis (Pisces: Rajidae) off Patagonia, Argentina. ICES J Mar Sci 58:288–297

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krebs CJ (1999) Ecological methodology, 2nd edn. Addison Wesley Longman, Inc., California, 620 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Lucifora LO, Valero JL, Bremec CS, Lasta ML (2000) Feeding habits and prey selection by the skate Dipturus chilensis (Elasmobranchii: Rajidae) from the south-western Atlantic. J Mar Biol Assoc UK 80:953–954

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mabragaña E, Giberto DA, Bremec CS (2005) Feeding ecology of Bathyraja macloviana (Rajiformes: Arhynchobatidae): a polychaete-feeding skate from the South-west Atlantic. Sci Mar 69:405–413

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mauchline J, Gordon JDM (1983) Diets of sharks and chimaeroids of the Rockall Trough, northeast Atlantic Ocean. Mar Biol 75:269–278

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McEachran JD, Boesch DF, Musick JA (1976) Food division within two sympatric species-pairs of skates (Pisces: Rajidae) Mar Biol 35:301–317

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McGarigal K, Cushman S, Stafford S (2000) Multivariate statistics for wildlife and ecology research. Springer Science + Buisness Media, Inc. New York, 283 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Mecklenburg CW, Mecklenburg TA, Thorsteinson LK (2002) Fishes of Alaska. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, Maryland, 1037 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Morato T, Solá E, Grós MP, Menezes G (2003) Diets of thornback ray (Raja clavata) and tope shark (Galeorhinus galeus) in the bottom longline fishery of the Azores, northeastern Atlantic. Fish Bull 101:590–602

    Google Scholar 

  • Muto EY, Soares LSH, Goitein R (2001) Food resource utilization of the skates Rioraja agassizii (Muller, Henle, 1841) and Psammobatis extenta (Garman, 1913) on the continental shelf off Ubatuba, south-eastern Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Biologia 61:217–238

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nelson JS (2006) Fishes of the world, 4th edn. John Wiley, Sons, Inc, New Jersey, 601 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Orlov AM (1998) On feeding of mass species of deep-sea skates (Bathyraja spp., Rajidae) from the Pacific waters of the northern Kurils and southeastern Kamchatka. J Ichthyol 38:635–644

    Google Scholar 

  • Orlov AM (2003) Diets, feeding habits, and trophic relations of six deep-benthic skates (Rajidae) in the western Bering Sea. J Ichthyol Aquat Biol 7:45–60

    Google Scholar 

  • Paukert CP, Wittig TA (2002) Applications of multivariate statistical methods to fisheries. Fisheries 27:16–22

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pedersen SA (1995) Feeding habits of starry ray (Raja radiata) in West Greenland waters. ICES J Mar Sci 52:43–53

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pinkas L, Oliphant MS, Iverson ILK (1971) Food habits of Albacore, Bluefin Tuna, and Bonito in California Waters. Fish Bull 152:1–105

    Google Scholar 

  • Skjaeraasen JE, Bergstad OA (2000) Distribution and feeding ecology of Raja radiata in the northeastern North Sea and Skagerrak (Norwegian Deep) ICES J Mar Sci 57:1249–1260

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smale MJ, Cowley PD (1992) The feeding ecology of skates (Batoidea: Rajidae) off the Cape South Coast, South Africa. South African J Mar Sci 12:823–834

    Google Scholar 

  • Templeman W (1982) Stomach contents of the thorny skate, Raja radiata, from the northwest Atlantic. J Northwest Atlantic Fish Sci 3:123–126

    Google Scholar 

  • Wakefield WW (1984) Feeding relationships within assemblages of nearshore and mid-continental shelf benthic fishes off Oregon. Oregon State University, Master’s Thesis

    Google Scholar 

  • Washington HG (1984) Diversity, Biotic and Similarity Indices: a review with special relevance to aquatic ecosystems. Water Res 18:653–694

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wetherbee BM, Gruber SH, Cortés E (1990) Diet, feeding habits, digestion, and consumption in sharks, with special reference to the lemon shark, Negaprion brevirostris. In: Pratt HL, Gruber SH, Taniuchi TT (eds) Elasmobranchs as living resources: advances in biology, ecology, systematics, and the status of the fisheries. NOAA Technical Report, NMFS 90, pp 29–47

    Google Scholar 

  • Wright N, King C (2002) California bathymetry at 10 m contour intervals (Teale Albers/NAD 27) California Department of Fish and Game. Marine Region, GIS Laboratory, Monterey, CA

    Google Scholar 

  • Yeon J, Hong SH, Cha HK, Kim ST (1999) Feeding habits of Raja pulchra in the Yellow Sea. Bull Natl Fish Res Dev Inst Korea 57:1–11

    Google Scholar 

  • Zeiner SJ, Wolf P (1993) Growth characteristics and estimation of age at maturity of two species of skates (Raja binoculata and Raja rhina) from Monterey Bay, California. NOAA Technical Report National Marine Fisheries Service 115, pp 87–99

    Google Scholar 

  • Zorzi GD, Martin LK, Ugoretz J (2001) Skate and Rays. pp. 257–261 In: Leet, WS, Dewes CM, Klingbeil R, Larson EJ (ed) California’s living marine resources: a status report. California Fish and Game, Resources Agency

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, Pacific Shark Research Center, 126 Second, 01475, St. Winchendon, MA, USA

    Heather J. Robinson

  2. Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, Pacific Shark Research Center, 8272 Moss Landing Road, 95039, Moss Landing, CA, USA

    Gregor M. Cailliet & David A. Ebert

Authors
  1. Heather J. Robinson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Gregor M. Cailliet
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. David A. Ebert
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Heather J. Robinson .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Pacific Shark Research Center, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, Moss Landing, CA, 95039, USA

    David A. Ebert

  2. Marine Science Center, University of New England, 11 Hills Beach Rd., Biddeford, ME, 04005, USA

    James A. Sulikowski

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2007 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Robinson, H.J., Cailliet, G.M., Ebert, D.A. (2007). Food habits of the longnose skate, Raja rhina (Jordan and Gilbert, 1880), in central California waters. In: Ebert, D.A., Sulikowski, J.A. (eds) Biology of Skates. Developments in Environmental Biology of Fishes 27, vol 27. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9703-4_5

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation