Using the otolith sulcus to aid in prey identification and improve estimates of prey size in diet studies of a piscivorous predator
Data Set (DS) | Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC)GUID: gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:58439 | Updated: September 27, 2023 | Published / External
Item Identification
Title: | Using the otolith sulcus to aid in prey identification and improve estimates of prey size in diet studies of a piscivorous predator |
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Status: | Completed |
Creation Date: | 1999 |
Revision Date: | 2020-01 |
Publication Date: | 2020 |
Abstract: |
Diet studies are fundamental for understanding trophic connections in marine ecosystems. In the southeastern US, the common bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus is the predominant marine mammal in coastal waters, but its role as a top predator has received little attention. Diet studies of piscivorous predators, like bottlenose dolphins, start with assessing prey otoliths recovered from stomachs or feces, but digestive erosion hampers species identification and underestimates fish weight (FW). To compensate, FW is often estimated from the least affected otoliths and scaled to other otoliths, which also introduces bias. The ulcus, an otolith surface feature, has a species-specific shape of its ostium and caudal extents, which is within the otolith edge for some species. We explored whether the sulcus could improve species identification and estimation of prey size using a case study of four sciaenid species targeted by fisheries and bottlenose dolphins in North Carolina. Methods were assessed first on otoliths from a reference collection (n=421) and applied to prey otoliths (n=5308) recovered from 20 stomachs of dead stranded dolphins. We demonstrated in reference collection otoliths that cauda to sulcus length (CL:SL) could discriminate between spotted seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus) and weakfish (Cynoscion regalis) (classification accuracy=0.98). This method confirmed for the first time predation of spotted seatrout by bottlenose dolphins in North Carolina. Using predictive models developed from reference collection otoliths, we provided evidence that digestion affects otolith length more than sulcus or cauda length, making the latter better predictors. Lastly, we explored scenarios of calculating total consumed biomass across degrees of digestion. A suggested approach was for the least digested otoliths to be scaled to other otoliths iteratively from within the same stomach, month, or season as samples allow. Using the otolith sulcus helped overcome challenges of species identification and fish-size estimation, indicating their potential use in other diet studies. |
Purpose: |
To explore whether the sulcus could improve species identification and estimation of prey size using a case study of four sciaenid species targeted by fisheries and bottlenose dolphins in North Carolina |
Supplemental Information: |
Complete List of Authors: Byrd, Barbie; Riverside Technology, Inc, Contractor for: Hohn, Aleta; National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Beaufort Laboratory Krause, Jacob; NC State University, Department of Applied Ecology/Center for Marine Sciences and TechnologyComplete List of Authors: Byrd, Barbie; Riverside Technology, Inc, Contractor for: Hohn, Aleta; National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Beaufort Laboratory Krause, Jacob; NC State University, Department of Applied Ecology/Center for Marine Sciences and Technology |
Keywords
Theme Keywords
Thesaurus | Keyword |
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UNCONTROLLED | |
NODC DATA TYPES | STOMACH CONTENTS - FULLNESS |
NODC DATA TYPES | STOMACH CONTENTS - PREY COUNT |
NODC DATA TYPES | ANIMALS - INDIVIDUAL - STOMACH CONTENTS |
NODC DATA TYPES | BIOLOGICAL DATA |
NODC DATA TYPES | STOMACH CONTENTS - CONTENT WEIGHT |
NODC DATA TYPES | STOMACH CONTENTS - DIGESTION |
NODC DATA TYPES | STOMACH CONTENTS - PREY TAXONOMY |
NODC OBSERVATION TYPES | fish examination |
NODC OBSERVATION TYPES | biological |
NODC OBSERVATION TYPES | in situ |
NODC OBSERVATION TYPES | laboratory analyses |
None | common bottlenose dolphin |
None | Tursiops |
Temporal Keywords
Thesaurus | Keyword |
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UNCONTROLLED | |
None | 1996-2012 |
Spatial Keywords
Thesaurus | Keyword |
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UNCONTROLLED | |
NODC SEA AREA NAMES | Coastal Waters Of North Carolina |
NODC SEA AREA NAMES | North Atlantic Ocean |
Physical Location
Organization: | Southeast Fisheries Science Center |
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City: | Miami |
State/Province: | FL |
Country: | USA |
Location Description: |
SEFSC PARR Data Server |
Data Set Information
Data Set Scope Code: | Data Set |
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Data Set Type: | MS Excel Spreadsheet |
Maintenance Frequency: | None Planned |
Data Presentation Form: | Document (digital) |
Entity Attribute Overview: |
Data used in the study, including data on stranded dolphins, data on reference-collection fish and associated otolith measurements, and measurements of otoliths taken from dolphin stomachs. |
Distribution Liability: |
None |
Data Set Credit: | Barbie Byrd and Aleta Hohn |
Support Roles
Data Steward
Date Effective From: | 2017 |
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Date Effective To: | |
Contact (Person): | Hohn, Aleta |
Address: |
101 Pivers Island Road Beaufort, NC 28156 |
Email Address: | aleta.hohn@noaa.gov |
Phone: | 252-728-8797 |
Fax: | 252-728-8784 |
URL: | Aleta Hohn Google Scholar Page |
Distributor
Date Effective From: | 2020 |
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Date Effective To: | |
Contact (Organization): | Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) |
Address: |
75 Virginia Beach Drive Miami, FL 33149 USA |
Phone: | (305)361-5761 |
URL: | https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/about/southeast-fisheries-science-center |
Business Hours: | 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. EST |
Metadata Contact
Date Effective From: | 2020 |
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Date Effective To: | |
Contact (Person): | Hohn, Aleta |
Address: |
101 Pivers Island Road Beaufort, NC 28156 |
Email Address: | aleta.hohn@noaa.gov |
Phone: | 252-728-8797 |
Fax: | 252-728-8784 |
URL: | Aleta Hohn Google Scholar Page |
Extents
Currentness Reference: | Ground Condition |
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Spatial Information
Spatial Representation
Representations Used
Text / Table: | Yes |
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Access Information
Security Class: | Unclassified |
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Data Access Policy: |
Open to everyone |
Data Access Procedure: |
Download From Provided url |
Data Access Constraints: |
None |
Data Use Constraints: |
Please cite appropriately |
Metadata Access Constraints: |
None |
Metadata Use Constraints: |
Please cite appropriately |
Distribution Information
Distribution 1
Start Date: | 2020 |
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End Date: | Present |
Download URL: | https://grunt.sefsc.noaa.gov/parr/58439.zip |
Distributor: | Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) (2020 - Present) |
File Name: | 58439.zip |
File Type: | Zip |
Compression: | Zip |
Child Items
Rubric scores updated every 15m
Catalog Details
Catalog Item ID: | 58439 |
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GUID: | gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:58439 |
Metadata Record Created By: | Lee M Weinberger |
Metadata Record Created: | 2020-01-08 00:11+0000 |
Metadata Record Last Modified By: | SysAdmin InPortAdmin |
Metadata Record Last Modified: | 2023-09-27 12:04+0000 |
Metadata Record Published: | 2021-04-29 |
Owner Org: | SEFSC |
Metadata Publication Status: | Published Externally |
Do Not Publish?: | N |
Metadata Last Review Date: | 2021-04-29 |
Metadata Review Frequency: | 1 Year |
Metadata Next Review Date: | 2022-04-29 |