Skip to main content

Longfin Mako Shark, Isurus paucus, in the Eastern Tropical Pacific: First Evidence of Trophic Ontogeny Based on the Isotopic Analysis of Long-term Tissues

Thalassas: An International Journal of Marine Sciences volume 38, pages 49–55 (2022)Cite this article

Abstract

The ontogeny of pelagic species is difficult to study due to their migratory patterns and the inaccessibility of their habitats, leaving a large part of their life history little understood. The aim of this work is to investigate the trophic ontogeny of an individual of Isurus paucus based on isotopic analysis of long-term tissue (vertebra and muscle). Nine samples (taken from eight vertebral collagen and one muscle) were analysed, giving δ13C values between –17.8‰ and –14.6‰, indicating use of both coastal and oceanic zones. The δ13C and δ15N values suggest that this individual of I. paucus was a secondary-third level predator (trophic position: 3.5–5.7]), with a broad isotopic niche (SEAC = 3.97‰2). The isotopic values obtained suggest that I. paucus give birth in coastal waters and then migrate towards oceanic zones, while the level of isotopic enrichment could be an indicator of the food sources and trophic level of the mother.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

References

  • Bowman RE, Stillwell CE, Michaels WL, Grosslein MD (2000) Food of northwest Atlantic fishes and two common species of squid (NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-NE-155). Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA

  • Bustamante C, Concha F, Balbontín F, Lamilla J (2009) Southernmost record of the Isurus paucus Gitart Manday, 1966 (Elasmobranchii: Lamnidae) in the southeast Pacific Ocean. Rev Biol Mar Oceanogr 44(2):523–526

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Calle-Moran M (2010) Ecología trófica del tiburón zorro pelágico Alopias pelagicus en Santa Rosa de Salinas, Pacífico ecuatoriano. Dissertation, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

  • Castro JI (2011) The sharks of North America. Oxford University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • CITES (2013) Inclusión del tiburón mako de aleta corta, Isurus oxyrinchus y tiburón mako de aleta larga, Isurus paucus en el apendice II. Cop18 Prop. 42. Geneva, Switzerland

  • Compagno LJV (2002) Sharks of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Bullhead, mackerel and carpet sharks. Vol. 2 (Heterodontiformes, Laminformes and Orectolobiformes). FAO, Species Catalogue for Fishery Purposes. No. 1 Vol. 2, FAO. Rome

  • Compagno LJV, Dando M, Fowler S (2005) Sharks of the world. Harper Collins Publisher, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Dodrill JW, Gilmore RG (1979) First north American continental record of the longfin mako (Isurus paucus Guitart Manday). Fla Sci 42(1):52–58

    Google Scholar 

  • Estrada JA, Rice AN, Lutcavage ME, Skomal GB (2003) Predicting trophic position in sharks of the north-west Atlantic Ocean using stable isotope analysis. J Mar Biol Assoc U K 83:1347–1350. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025315403008798

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Estrada JA, Rice AN, Natason LJ, Skomal GB (2006) Use of isotopic analysis of vertebrae in reconstructing ontogenetic feeding ecology in white sharks. Ecology 87(4):829–834

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Estupiñán-Montaño C, Galván-Magaña F, Sánchez-González A, Elorriaga-Verplancken FR, Delgado-Antonio A, Páez-Rosas D (2019) Dietary ontogeny of the blue shark, Prionace glauca, based on the analysis of δ13C y δ15N in vertebrae. Mar Biol 166:101. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-019-3550-0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Estupiñán-Montaño C, Galván-Magaña F, Elorriaga-Verplancken F, Zetina-Rejón MJ, Sánchez-González A, Polo-Silva CJ, Villalobos-Ramírez DJ, Rojas-Cundumí J, Delgado-Huertas A (2021) Ontogenetic feeding ecology of the scalloped hammerhead shark Sphyrna lewini in the Colombian Eastern Tropical Pacific. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 663:127–143. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13639

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferreira LC, Thum M, Heithaus MR, Barnett A, Abrantes KG, Holmes BJ, Zamora LM, Frisch AJ, Pepperell JG, Burkholder D, Vaudo J, Nowicki R, Meeuwig J, Meekan MG (2017) The trophic role of a large marine predator, the tiger shark Galeocerdo cuvier. Sci Rep 7:7641. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-07751-2

  • Garrick J (1967) Revison of sharks of genus Isurus with description of a new species (Galeoidae, Lamnidae). Proc U W Natl Mus 118:663-690

  • Gilmore RG (1983) Observations on the embryos of the longfin mako, Isurus paucus, and the bigeye thresher, Alopias superciliosus. Copeia 1983:375–382

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hedges JI, Stern JH (1984) Carbon and nitrogen determinations of carbonate-containing solids. Limnol Oceanogr 29:657–663. https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.1984.29.3.0657

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hueter RE, Tynimski JP, Morris JJ, Abierno AR, Valdes JA (2017) Horizontal and vertical movements of longfin makos (Isurus paucus) tracked with satellite-linked tags in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean. Fish Bull 115(1):101–116. https://doi.org/10.7755/FB.115.1.9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hussey NE, Wintner SP, Dudley SFJ, Cliff G, Cocks DT, MacNeil A (2010) Maternal investment and size-specific reproductive output in carcharhinid sharks. J Anim Ecol 79:184–193. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2656.2009.01623.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hussey NE, MacNeil MA, Siple MC, Popp BN, Dubley SFJ, Fisk AT (2015) Expanded trophic complexity among large sharks. Food Webs 4(2015):1–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fooweb.2015.04.002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson AL, Inger R, Parnell AC, Bearhop S (2011) Comparing isotopic niche widths among and within communities: SIBER – Stable Isotope Bayesian Ellipses in R. J Anim Ecol 80(3):595–602. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2656.2011.01806.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim SL, Koch PL (2012) Methods to collect, preserve, and prepare elasmobranch tissues for stable isotope analysis. Environ Biol Fish 95(1):53–63. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-011-9860-9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim SL, Tinker MT, Estes JA, Koch PL (2012) Ontogenetic and among-individual variation in foraging strategies of northeast Pacific white sharks based on stable isotope analysis. PLoS ONE 7(9):e45068. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0045068

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kiszka JJ, Charlot K, Hussey NE, Heithaus MR, Simon-Bouhet B, Humber F, Caurant F, Bustamante P (2014) Trophic ecology of common elasmobranchs exploited by artisanal shark fisheries off south-western Madagascar. Aquat Biol 23:29–38. https://doi.org/10.3354/ab00602

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Logan HM, Lutcavage ME (2010) Stable isotope dynamics in elasmobranch fishes. Hydrobiologia 644(1):231–244

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lyons K, Preti A, Madigan DJ, Wells RJD, Blasius ME, Snodgrass OE, Kacev D, Harris JD, Dewar H, Kohin S, MacKenzie K, Lowe CG (2015) Insights into the life history and ecology of a large shortfin mako shark Isurus oxyrinchus captures in southern California. J Fish Biol 87:200–2011

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacNeil MA, Skomal GB, Fisk AT (2005) Stable isotopes form multiple tissues reveal diet switching in sharks. Mar Ecol Progr Ser 302:199–206. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps302199

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Malpica-Cruz L, Herzka SZ, Sosa-Nishizaki O, Escobedo-Olvera MA (2013) Tissue-specific stable isotope ratio of shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus) and white (Carcharodon carcharias) sharks as indicators of size-based differences in foraging habitat and trophic level. Fish Oceanogr 22(6):429–445. https://doi.org/10.1111/fog.12034

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mearns AJ, Olson RJ, Young DR, Schafer HA (1981) Trophic structure and the cesium-potassium ratio in the pelagic ecosystem. CCOFI Rep XXII: 99−110

  • Mucientes-Sandoval GR, Saborido-Rey (2008) Acercamiento a la composición de la dieta de Isurus oxyrinchus Rafinesque, 1981 (Elasmobranchii: Lamnidae) en aguas internacionales del Pacífico sur central. Rev Invest Mar 29(2):145–150

  • Páez-Rosas D, Aurioles-Gamboa D, Alava JJ, Palacios DM (2012) Stable isotopes indicate differing foraging strategies in two sympatric otariids of the Galapagos Islands. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 424−425:44−52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jembe.2012.05.001

  • Polo-Silva C, Newsome SD, Galván-Magaña F, Grijalba-Bendeck M, Sanjuan-Muñoz A (2013) Trophic shift in the diet of the pelagic thresher shark based on stomach contents and stable isotope analyses. Mar Biol Res 9(10):958–971. https://doi.org/10.1080/17451000.2013.793802

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Preti A, Soykan CU, Dewar H, wells RJD, Spear N, Kohin S, (2012) Comparative feeding ecology of shortfin mako, blue and thresher sharks in the California Current. Environ Biol Fish 95:127–146

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Quezada-Romegialli C, Jackson AL, Harrod C (2018) tRophicPosition: Bayesian trophic position calculation with stable isotopes. R packages version 0.7.5. http://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/tRophicPsition

  • R Development Core Team (2017) R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. https://www.R-project.org/

  • Reardon MB, Gerber L, Cavanagh RD (2006) Isurus paucus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2006: e.T60225A12328101

  • Rigby CL, Barreto R, Carlson J, Fernando D, Fordham S, Francis MP, Jabado RW, Liu KM, Marshall A, Pacoureau N, Romanov E, Sherley RB, Winker H (2019) Isurus paucus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, 2006, e.T60225A3095898. https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-1.RLTS.T60225A3095898.en

  • Tamburin E, Kim S, Elorriaga-Verplancken F, Madigan JD, Hoyos-Padilla M, Sánchez-González A, Hernández-Herrera A, Castillo-Géniz JL, Godinez-Padilla CJ, Galván-Magaña F (2019) Isotopic niche and resource sharing among young sharks (Carcharodon carcharias and Isurus oxyrinchus) in Baja California, Mexico. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 613:107–124. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12884

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vaudo JJ, Matich P, Heithaus MR (2010) Mother-offspring isotope fractionation in two species of placentatrophic sharks. J Fish Biol 77:1724–1727. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8649.2010.02813.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

To the fishermen and fish merchants of Tarqui Beach (Manta, Ecuador). To the Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra, Granada, Spain and Alejandro Sandoval-Londoño. To Daniel Edgar for the translation of the manuscript, as well as to the anonymous reviewers for their assistance in improving the manuscript.

Funding

Fundación Alium Pacific and Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra (CSIC).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fundación Alium Pacific, Carrera 26 No. 5C–13, Cali, Colombia

    Colombo Estupiñán-Montaño

  2. Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de La Tierra, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Armilla, 18100, Granada, España

    Antonio Delgado-Huertas

Authors
  1. Colombo Estupiñán-Montaño
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Antonio Delgado-Huertas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Conceptualization: Colombo Estupiñán-Montaño; Methodology: Colombo Estupiñán-Montaño; Formal analysis and investigation: Colombo Estupiñán-Montaño; Writing – original draft preparation: Colombo Estupiñán-Montaño, Writing – review and editing: Antonio Delgado-Huertas.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Colombo Estupiñán-Montaño.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

The author(s) declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Estupiñán-Montaño, C., Delgado-Huertas, A. Longfin Mako Shark, Isurus paucus, in the Eastern Tropical Pacific: First Evidence of Trophic Ontogeny Based on the Isotopic Analysis of Long-term Tissues. Thalassas 38, 49–55 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41208-022-00404-w

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41208-022-00404-w

Keywords

  • Ecuador
  • Maternal transference
  • Lamniformes
  • Trophic level
  • Isotopic niche