Feeding habits and trophic interactions of Doryteuthis gahi, Illex argentinus and Onykia ingens in the marine ecosystem off the Patagonian Shelf

Abstract

The stomach contents of three squids: 57 Doryteuthis gahi with mantle length (ML) ranging from 7.0 to 37.0 cm, 75 Illex argentinus (21.0–32.8 cm) and 116 Onykia ingens (19.9–39.3 cm) from commercial catches on the outer Patagonian shelf grounds during autumn (March and April 2012) were examined to describe their diet and compare their trophic spectrum. D. gahi preyed on 12 different items, I. argentinus on 20 and O. ingens on 29. Prey diversity increased with the sizes of the squids. Along growth, D. gahi shifted from crustaceans, mainly euphausiids to fish (Salilota australis) and squid (D. gahi and Histioteuthis sp.). Small to mid-sized I. argentinus and O. ingens consumed mostly two fish, two squid species D. gahi and Histioteuthis atlantica, two crustaceans Munida gregaria and Munida subrugosa and the Chaetognatha Sagitta elegans. All the three species show a high prey overlapping at similar sizes: Squid of smaller size (5–15 cm ML) fed mainly on crustaceans: D. gahi on euphausiids and squat lobsters (Munididae). Mid-sized squid fed mainly on fish, most frequently Gymnoscopelus sp. and S. australis, and larger I. argentinus and O. ingens fed mostly on squids, including cannibalism. The overlapping of the diet of similar sized squid was large suggesting all preys are abundant species in autumn in the water column in the Patagonian Shelf.