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Resource use by Sphyrna mokarran and S. lewini (Chondrichthyes) neonates and juveniles in the western Arabian Gulf: a stable isotope analysis

Authors :
J Lin Y
HH Hsu
Z Nazeer
P Panickan
RH Maneja
D Lozano-Cortés
A Qasem
A Delgado Huertas
LJ Rabaoui
Source :
Endangered Species Research, Vol 54, Pp 277-284 (2024)
Publication Year :
2024
Publisher :
Inter-Research, 2024.

Abstract

The great hammerhead shark Sphyrna mokarran and the scalloped hammerhead shark S. lewini are marine top predators with global distributions. However, limited information is available on the trophic ecology of hammerhead sharks in the Indian Ocean. In this study, we measured stable nitrogen and carbon isotopes in the muscle tissues of neonates and juveniles of S. mokarran and S. lewini from the waters of the western Arabian Gulf. In general, values of δ15N were lower in S. mokarran (10.8-18.7‰) than in S. lewini (12.2-18.7‰), indicating a reliance on food sources with low nitrogen values. Isotopic niche similarities were observed between female and male S. mokarran. We further observed considerable ontogenetic changes in the δ15N values of both S. mokarran and S. lewini neonates (a reduction from 19 to 12‰), reflecting the maternal effect. The effects of total length and sex on the nitrogen and stable isotope values were nonsignificant in S. mokarran juveniles. The western Arabian Gulf likely serves as a key feeding ground for both the neonates and the juveniles of S. mokarran. By contrast, S. lewini appears to have a low level of reliance on this region.

Subjects

Subjects :
Zoology
QL1-991
Botany
QK1-989

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
18635407 and 16134796
Volume :
54
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Endangered Species Research
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.fb0f917d95cd43289f3ccbc1f77cefa0
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3354/esr01341