Abstract

NARANJO-RUIZ, Karem Leonela; DELGADO-ESTRELLA, Alberto; MORQUECHO-LEON, María Raisa Karenina  and  TORRES-ROJAS, Yassir Edén. Determination of prey consumed by bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), obtained from strandings in Carmen Island, Campeche. Rev. Mex. Biodiv. [online]. 2019, vol.90, e902513.  Epub Mar 04, 2019. ISSN 2007-8706.  https://doi.org/10.22201/ib.20078706e.2019.90.2513.

Several aquatic mammals are at the highest levels of the food web, their study is important to understand the interactions among species that coexist in the same environment. This is the first feeding habits research of the bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) on the southern Gulf of Mexico specifically at Términos Lagoon. The objective of this work was to provide information about their feeding, particularly of fish species. The fish were identified through otoliths found in the stomach content of stranded dolphins, using their morphological characteristics, as well as the topography of the inner face. A total of 4,953 otoliths were analyzed, identifying 34 fish species belonging to 18 families where the highest preference were Ariidae and Sciaenidae, present in almost all seasons and age classes. In addition, it was found that demersal species represent more than the half of the prey fish of T. truncatus, which allows a better understanding of feeding strategies, that in the present study was a generalist type. Finally, there were no significant differences in feeding between specimens that were part of the study.

Keywords : Feeding habits; Otoliths; Dolphins.

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