Ecología trófica de dos peces de la familia Gempylidae en aguas oceánicas del Pacífico Sur Oriental

Abstract

The feeding of the escolar fishes Ruvettus pretiosus and Lepidocybium flavobrunneum has not been reported yet for southeastern Pacific waters. The main goal of this work was to study the trophic relationships using stomach contents and stable isotopes, δ15N and δ13C, based on mixing models. Results showed that both fish had differences in the importance of the prey, feeding strategy and habitat use. Also, they presented similar values of δ15N (~20‰) and δ13C (~-16‰), but a low probability of niche overlapping.