TY - JOUR
T1 - Foraging segregation between spotted (Stenella attenuata) and spinner (Stenella longirostris) dolphins in the Mexican South Pacific
AU - Enríquez-García, Arturo Bell
AU - Villegas-Zurita, Francisco
AU - Tripp-Valdez, Arturo
AU - Moreno-Sánchez, Xchel G.
AU - Galván-Magaña, Felipe
AU - Elorriaga-Verplancken, Fernando R.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Society for Marine Mammalogy.
PY - 2022/7
Y1 - 2022/7
N2 - Coexistence among sympatric species requires a certain degree of resource partitioning. In the Mexican South Pacific, information regarding the coexistence of Stenella attenuata (SA) and Stenella longirostris (SL) is lacking. Stable isotope analyses (δ15N and δ13C) were conducted to assess the differences in feeding habits to infer trophic position and amplitude as well as habitat use, based on Bayesian inference and a random forest (RF) classifier. Potential trophic relationships with other species were assessed by Bayesian mixing models. Feeding segregation between species was mainly based on carbon sources (δ13C: p(SA > SL) = 100%, RF Gini Impurity = 80%). Moreover, SA (n = 22) presented a broader isotopic niche than that of SL (n = 25; SIBER Bayesian Standard Ellipse areas = 0.91‰2 vs. 0.77‰2) with a 33% overlap, suggesting that SA uses more coastal habitats than SL. The most relevant prey species were the mesopelagic fish Benthosema panamense and the epipelagic fish Hyporhamphus naos (~50%), although B. panamense was more related to SL than SA: p(%SL > %SA) = 76.6%. The trophic positions were 4.0 (SA) and 3.8 (SL). Our results provide evidence of resource partitioning within a potential foraging ground for both dolphin species.
AB - Coexistence among sympatric species requires a certain degree of resource partitioning. In the Mexican South Pacific, information regarding the coexistence of Stenella attenuata (SA) and Stenella longirostris (SL) is lacking. Stable isotope analyses (δ15N and δ13C) were conducted to assess the differences in feeding habits to infer trophic position and amplitude as well as habitat use, based on Bayesian inference and a random forest (RF) classifier. Potential trophic relationships with other species were assessed by Bayesian mixing models. Feeding segregation between species was mainly based on carbon sources (δ13C: p(SA > SL) = 100%, RF Gini Impurity = 80%). Moreover, SA (n = 22) presented a broader isotopic niche than that of SL (n = 25; SIBER Bayesian Standard Ellipse areas = 0.91‰2 vs. 0.77‰2) with a 33% overlap, suggesting that SA uses more coastal habitats than SL. The most relevant prey species were the mesopelagic fish Benthosema panamense and the epipelagic fish Hyporhamphus naos (~50%), although B. panamense was more related to SL than SA: p(%SL > %SA) = 76.6%. The trophic positions were 4.0 (SA) and 3.8 (SL). Our results provide evidence of resource partitioning within a potential foraging ground for both dolphin species.
KW - Bayesian inference
KW - Mexican South Pacific
KW - dolphin
KW - foraging ground
KW - machine learning
KW - niche partitioning
KW - prey
KW - trophic ecology
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85124614224&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/mms.12912
DO - 10.1111/mms.12912
M3 - Artículo
AN - SCOPUS:85124614224
SN - 0824-0469
VL - 38
SP - 1070
EP - 1087
JO - Marine Mammal Science
JF - Marine Mammal Science
IS - 3
ER -