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Food Habits of Patagonotothen cornucola (Nototheniidae) in Patagonian Shelf (Southwest Atlantic)

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Abstract

Patagonotothen cornucola is one of the most abundant intertidal fishes off the Patagonian shores of central Argentina that live under rocks, among algae and in tidal pools. This study was aimed to analyze its dietary composition and feeding strategy in two sites of the coast of San Jorge Gulf, Argentina. Samples were taken monthly between 2008 and 2012. The stomach contents were identified at the lowest possible level, counted and weighed. The most numerous group found in the stomachs were crustaceans, followed by annelids. Among crustaceans P. cornucola feeds principally on the isopod Exosphaeroma sp. and amphipods, and polychaetes represented the most important prey among annelids. There was no single predominating prey item across the studied area, and the occurrences of each prey were different in each site. Our study demonstrated that P. cornucola is mainly carcinophagous opportunistic ambush predator exhibiting seasonal and spatial variability of the feeding spectrum.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank Dr. Atila Gsztonyi (for CENPAT-CONICET, Puerto Madryn, Argentina) for counseling, Dr. Juan P. Martín (for Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia Austral, Rio Gallegos, Argentina) for the identification of polychaetes, and Lic. Héctor Zaixso and Dr. Julio Vinuesa (for Instituto de Desarrollo Costero, Comodoro Rivadavia, Argentina) for help in the identification of invertebrates.

Funding

This study was supported by the Project “Reproducción y dieta de Patagonotothen cornucola (Nototheniidae) en el área central del golfo San Jorge”. PI: 973. Secretaría de Ciencia y Técnica, Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia San Juan Bosco, Chubut, Argentina.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Desarrollo Costero, Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia San Juan Bosco, Chubut, Argentina

    M. S. Marcinkevicius & M. V. Álvarez

  2. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia San Juan Bosco, Chubut, Argentina

    M. S. Marcinkevicius, B. A. Jones, C. C. Serrano Aguirre & M. V. Álvarez

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  1. M. S. Marcinkevicius
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  2. B. A. Jones
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  3. C. C. Serrano Aguirre
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  4. M. V. Álvarez
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Correspondence to M. S. Marcinkevicius.

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Conflict of interest. The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Statement of the welfare of animals. All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed.

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Marcinkevicius, M.S., Jones, B.A., Aguirre, C.C. et al. Food Habits of Patagonotothen cornucola (Nototheniidae) in Patagonian Shelf (Southwest Atlantic). J. Ichthyol. 61, 891–899 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0032945221450012

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