Trophic ecology of Atlantic bluefin tuna Thunnus thynnus larvae

Journal of Fish Biology

Volumn 78, Issue 5, 2011, Pages 1545-1560

  Catalan I A ^a   Tejedor, A ^a   Alemany, F ^b   Reglero, P ^b  

^a INSTITUTO MEDITERRÁNEO DE ESTUDIOS AVANZADOS   (Spain)

^b Centro Oceanográfico de Baleares   (Spain)

Author keywords

Diet; Fish larvae; Morphometry; Selectivity

Indexed keywords

ANIMAL; ARTICLE; DIET; ENERGY METABOLISM; FEEDING BEHAVIOR; FOOD CHAIN; GROWTH, DEVELOPMENT AND AGING; HISTOLOGY; LARVA; MEDITERRANEAN SEA; PHYSIOLOGY; TUNA;

ANIMALS; DIET; ENERGY METABOLISM; FEEDING BEHAVIOR; FOOD CHAIN; LARVA; MEDITERRANEAN SEA; TUNA;

APPENDICULARIA (CLASS); COPEPODA; SCOMBRIDAE; THUNNUS THYNNUS;

EID: 79955491150     PISSN: 00221112     EISSN: 10958649     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8649.2011.02960.x     Document Type: Article

References (32)

1. Alemany, F., Quintanilla, L., Velez-Belchí, P., García, A., Cortés, D., Rodríguez, J., Fernández de Puelles, M. L., González-Pola, C. & López-Jurado, J. L. (2010). Characterization of the spawning habitat of Atlantic bluefin tuna and related species in the Balearic Sea (western Mediterranean). Progress in Oceanography 86, 21-38.
2. Berggreen, U., Hansen, B. & Kiorboe, T. (1988). Food size spectra, ingestion and growth of the copepod Acartia tonsa during development: implications for determination of copepod production. Marine Biology 99, 341-352.
3. Calbet, A., Garrido, S., Saiz, E., Alcaraz, M. & Duarte, C. (2001). Annual zooplankton succession in coastal NW Mediterranean waters: the importance of the smallest size fractions. Journal of Plankton Research 23, 319-331.
4. Catalán, I. A., Alemany, F., Morillas, A. & Morales-Nin, B. (2007). Diet of larval albacore Thunnus alalunga (Bonnaterre, 1788) off Mallorca Island (NW Mediterranean). Scientia Marina 71, 347-354.
5. Chesson, J. (1978). Measuring preference in selective predation. Ecology 59, 211-215.
6. Cortés, E. (1997). A critical review of methods of studying fish feeding based on analysis of stomach contents: application to elasmobranch fishes. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 54, 726-738.
7. Doumenge, F. (1998). L'historie des peches thonnières. Collective Volumes of Scientific Papers ICCAT 50, 753-803.
8. Duclerc, J., Sacchi, J., Piccinetti, C., Manfrin, G., Dicenta, A. & Barrois, J. M. (1973). Nouvelles données sur la reproduction du thon rouge (Thunnus thynnus L.) et d'autres espéces de Thonidés en Méditerranée. Revue des travaux de l'Institut des peches maritimes 37, 163-176.
9. Fromentin, J.-M. & Powers, J. E. (2005). Atlantic bluefin tuna: population dynamics, ecology, fisheries and management. Fish and Fisheries 6, 282-306. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-2979.2005.00197.x
10. García, A., Cortés, D., Ramírez, T., Fehri-Bedoui, R., Alemany, F., Rodríguez, J. M., Carpena, A. & Álvarez, J. P. (2006). First data on growth and nucleic acid and protein content of field-captured Mediterranean bluefin (Thunnus thynnus) and albacore (Thunnus alalunga) tuna larvae: a comparative study. Scientia Marina 70, 67-78.
11. Hunter, J. R. (1981). Feeding ecology and predation of marine fish larvae. In Marine Fish Larvae:Morphology, Ecology, and Relation to Fisheries (Lasker, R., ed.), pp. 34-77. Seattle, WA: Washington Sea Grant Program.
12. Kaji, T., Tanaka, M., Takahashi, Y., Oka, M. & Ishibashi, N. (1996). Preliminary observations on development of Pacific bluefin tuna Thunnus thynnus (Scombridae) larvae reared in the laboratory, with special reference to the digestive system. Marine and Freshwater Research 47, 261-279.
13. Llopiz, J. K., Richardson, D. E., Shiroza, A., Smith, S. L. & Cowen, R. K. (2010). Distinctions in the diets and distributions of larval tunas and the important role of appendicularians. Limnology and Oceanography 55, 983-996.
14. López-Urrutia, Á., Acuña, J., Irigoien, X. & Harris, R. (2003). Food limitation and growth in temperate epipelagic appendicularians (Tunicata). Marine Ecology Progress Series 252, 143-157.
15. Mariani, P., MacKenzie, B., Iudicone, D. & Bozec, A. (2010). Modelling retention and dispersion mechanisms of bluefin tuna eggs and larvae in the northwest Mediterranean Sea. Progress in Oceanography 86, 45-58.
16. Menden-Deuer, S. & Lessard, E. J. (2000). Carbon to volume relationships for dinoflagellates, diatoms, and other protist plankton. Limnology and Oceanography 45, 569-579.
17. Miyake, P. M., Dela Serna, J. M., Di Natale, A., Farrugia, A., Katavic, I., Miyabe, N. & Ticina, V. (2003). General review of Atlantic bluefin tuna farming in the Mediterranean area. Collective Volumes of Scientific Papers ICCAT 55, 114-124.
18. Miyashita, S., Sawada, Y., Okada, T., Murata, O. & Kumai, H. (2001). Morphological development and growth of laboratory-reared larval and juvenile Thunnus thynnus (Pisces Scombridae). Fishery Bulletin 99, 601-616.
19. Morote, E., Olivar, M. P., Pankhurst, P. M., Villate, F. & Uriarte, M. (2008). Trophic ecology of bullet tuna Auxis rochei larvae and ontogeny of feeding-related organs. Marine Ecology Progress Series 353, 243-254.
20. Pearre, S. (1986). Ratio-based trophic niche breadths of fish, the Sheldon spectrum, and the size-efficiency hypothesis. Marine Ecology Progress Series 27, 299-314.
21. Richards, W. J. & Dove, G. R. (1971). Internal development of young tunas of the genera Katsuwonus, Euthynnus, Auxis, and Thunnus. Copeia 1971, 72-78.
22. Rodriguez-Roda, J. & Dicenta, A. (1981). Spawning grounds of Thunnus thynnus, Auxis thazard and Sarda sarda off the Spanish and Moroccan Coasts. Collective Volume of Scientific Papers ICCAT 15, 278-283.
23. Rooker, J. R., Alvarado, J. R., Block, B. A., Dewar, H., De Metrio, G., Corriero, A., Kraus, R. T., Prince, E. D., Rodríguez-Marín, E. & Secor, D. H. (2007). Life history and stock structure of Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus). Reviews in Fisheries Science 15, 265-310.
24. Sabatés, A., Zaragoza, N., Grau, C. & Salat, J. (2008). Vertical distribution of early developmental stages in two coexisting clupeoid species, Sardinella aurita and Engraulis encrasicolus. Marine Ecology Progress Series 364, 169-180.
25. Satapoomin, S. (1999). Carbon content of some common tropical Andaman Sea copepods. Journal of Plankton Research 21, 2117-2123.
26. Tanaka, Y., Satoh, K., Yamada, H., Takebe, T., Nikaido, H. & Shiozawa, S. (2008). Assessment of the nutritional status of field-caught larval Pacific bluefin tuna by RNA/DNA ratio based on a starvation experiment of hatchery-reared fish. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 354, 56-64.
27. Uotani, I., Saito, T., Hiranuma, K. & Nishikawa, Y. (1990). Feeding habit of bluefin tuna Thunnus thynnus larvae in the Western North Pacific Ocean. Nippon Suisan Gakkaishi 56, 713-717.
28. Uye, S. (1982). Length-weight relationships of important zooplankton from the Inland Sea of Japan. Journal of the Oceanographical Society of Japan 38, 149-158.
29. Wong, C. K., Li, V. C. Y. & Chan, A. (2008). Diel cycles of reproduction and vertical migration in the marine cladocerans Pseudevadne tergestina and Penilia avirrostris. Journal of Plankton Research 30, 65-73.
30. Young, J. W. & Davis, T. L. O. (1990). Feeding ecology of larvae of southern bluefin, albacore and skipjack tunas (Pisces: Scombridae) in the eastern Indian Ocean. Marine Ecology Progress Series 61, 17-29.
31. Anon (2007). Report of the 2006 Atlantic bluefin tuna stock assessment. ICCAT Collective Volume of Scientific Papers, pp. 652-880. Available at
32. Reglero, P., Uritzberea, A., Fiksen, O., Catalán, I. A., Pérez-Torres, A. & Alemany, F. (2009). Size-dependent predation in piscivorous larval stages of three tuna species. ICES CM 2009/T12. Available at (accessed 9 October 2010).