Pelagic productivity and abundance of competitors modulate trophic niche segregation between large predators
Fernández-Corredor, Elena (Institut de Ciències del Mar)
Navarro, Joan (Institut de Ciències del Mar)
Fuster-Alonso, Alba (Institut de Ciències del Mar)
Giménez, Joan (Instituto Español de Oceanografía)
García-Barcelona, Salvador (Instituto Español de Oceanografía)
Rueda, Lucía (Instituto Español de Oceanografía)
Macías, David (Instituto Español de Oceanografía)
Coll Montón, Marta (Institut de Ciències del Mar)
Ramírez, Francisco (Institut de Ciències del Mar)

Data:	2025
Resum:	In the open ocean, large pelagic predators often share similar food resources and feeding grounds, probably avoiding competition and coexisting through niche partitioning. Building on this hypothesis, we combined spatial distribution data with isotopic niche metrics and diet reconstructions based on C and N stable isotopes to describe intra- and interspecific competition between three sympatric predators: swordfish (Xiphias gladius), blue shark (Prionace glauca) and shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus). We then evaluated the role of biological (competitor abundance), environmental (pelagic productivity) and anthropogenic (fishing pressure) drivers in shaping competition metrics within and between species. Shortfin makos had a high isotopic niche overlap with blue sharks (>80%), feeding on similar prey. In the Mediterranean, the isotopic niche of swordfish was narrower than, and highly overlapped with, that of blue sharks, although diet estimates suggest that swordfish rely more on fish while blue sharks rely more on squid. On average, the potential for intraspecific competition was highest for swordfish and lowest for shortfin makos. Our results suggest that pelagic productivity and competitor abundance are key drivers of intra- and interspecific trophic niche segregation between large pelagic predators, respectively. They support the hypothesis that niche partitioning is reduced under a scenario of high resource availability.
Ajuts:	Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades FPU20/05523 Agencia Estatal de Investigación PID2020-118097RB-I00 European Commission 869300 European Commission 101059877 Agencia Estatal de Investigación CEX2024-001494-S
Drets:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Llengua:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Matèria:	Swordfish ; Blue shark ; Shortfin mako ; Pelagic fish ; Isotopic niche ; Competition ; Stable isotopes ; Top predators ; Diet ; Fisheries
Publicat a:	Proceedings - Royal Society. Biological sciences, Vol. 292, Issue 2057 (October 2025) , art. 20251809, ISSN 1471-2954

DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2025.1809
PMID: 41157881

12 p, 3.3 MB

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