Tripp-Valdez, A., A., Piñón-Gimate, U., Jakes-Cota & F.O., López Fuerte (2023). Diet of the stone scorpionfish (Scorpaena mystes) from the coastal region of Santa Rosalia, Gulf of California, Mexico using stomach contents and stable isotope analyses. Regional Studies in Marine Science. 62: 102942. DOI: 10.1016/j.rsma.2023.102942.
Arturo Tripp-Valdez 1, Alejandra Piñón-Gimate 1, Ulianov Jakes-Cota 1 y Francisco O. López Fuerte 2
InSanta Rosalia, stone scorpionfish, Scorpaenamystes, is an important part of the benthic community, henceits ecology regarding food habits by means of stomach contents and isotopesignal were studied. Stone scorpionfish were captured during an annual cycle,from May 2015 through April 2016 in waters off Santa Rosalia, Baja CaliforniaSur, Mexico. Stomach contents and muscle samples were analyzed for d13C and d15N isotopic signature in order to describe the trophicniche of the stone scorpionfish both in terms of the prey items consumed andthe assimilated items. The diet comprised 22 items: cephalopods, bivalves,crustaceans, seaweeds, and unidentified organic matter (UOM). The mostimportant preys according to the %IRI (Index of Relative Importance) were thecephalopod Octopus hubbsorum (19.5%), non-identified crustaceans (18.8%), brachyurancrabs (15.9%), Serranus psittacinus(9.3%), Dosidicusgigas (8.8%) and Cronius ruber (7.3%). No significant differences were found between thediet of females and males, sizes or seasons. The mean of the d15N was 19.07 ± 0.63‰ and for the d13C was of -14.76 ± 0.81. The main contributors to the diet, according to theStable Isotope Mixing Model in R (SIMMR), were the cephalopod Octopus hubbsorum with a meancontribution of 32% followed by demersal fishes with 31%. No significantdifferences were found between the sexes, sizes or seasons, or in the isotopicniche. The Amundsen plot shows that the stone scorpion fish is a generalistpredator, while the trophic level was 4.3 with stomach contents and 4.0 bymeans of the isotopic signature. This is the first study of stone scorpionfishinvolving its trophic niche.
Palabras clave: stable isotopes; stomach contents; Gulf of California; Stone Scorpionfish
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