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Feeding ecology of the common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) in Western Iberian waters: has the decline in sardine (Sardina pilchardus) affected dolphin diet?

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Abstract

Predator diet is expected to respond to changes in the abundance of important prey items. We investigated whether common dolphin diet has changed with changes in the pelagic fish community off the Iberian Peninsula in recent years, in particular with reference to the decline of sardine (Sardina pilchardus) and the increase of Atlantic chub mackerel (Scomber colias) and scads (Trachurus spp.), and estimated how much fish was removed by common dolphins in coastal waters of mainland Portugal. Based on analysis of stomach contents of stranded animals from 2010 to 2013 (n = 150), we related diet composition to sardine abundance, dolphin size and sex, season and region. Despite the decline in sardine stocks in recent years, sardines were the most important prey of common dolphins, as was previously reported in the 1990s, followed by chub mackerel and scads. However, small sardines have disappeared from the diet, consistent with recent poor recruitment to the stock. The relative importance of these pelagic species in the diet increased significantly with increasing dolphin length. The dietary importance of chub mackerel also varied regionally, with higher intake on the southern coast. Finally, we compared the estimated biomass of fish removed by dolphins with that taken by fisheries. We found that even with the severe quota restrictions on sardine catches, total biomass removed by fisheries was over five times greater than the estimated removal by common dolphins. Our results confirm the previously reported preference for energy-rich prey, especially sardine, suggesting that common dolphins in Portuguese waters specialise in feeding on this species.

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by the projects SafeSea (EEA-Grants) and MarPro (European Commission Life Programme, NAT/PT/00038). This study received additional support from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) through grants SFRH/BPD/64889/2009 to A. Marçalo, SFRH/BD/51416/2011 to L. Nicolau, and SFRH/BD/30240/2006 to M. Ferreira. J. Giménez was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, through the Severo Ochoa Program for Centers of Excellence in R + D + I (SEV-2012-0262). Many thanks to Maria Casero for help in the laboratory. A special thank you goes to Mónica A. Silva for providing raw data from her 1999 study, thus permitting a detailed comparison with the current dataset. The authors also thank all volunteers, technicians and maritime authority officers whose contribution to the local stranding networks was crucial for the full development of this study. Finally, the authors are deeply in debt to Ewan Hunter (associate editor) and four reviewers whose comments and suggestions greatly improved the paper.

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  1. Ana Marçalo

    Present address: Centre of Marine Sciences (CCMAR), University of the Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, FCT Ed. 7, 8005-139, Faro, Portugal

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM), Universidade de Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal

    Ana Marçalo, Lídia Nicolau, Jorge Santos, Hélder Araújo, José Vingada & Graham J. Pierce

  2. Departamento de Biologia, Centro de Biologia Molecular e Ambiental (CBMA)/Sociedade Portuguesa de Vida Selvagem (SPVS), Universidade do Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057, Braga, Portugal

    Ana Marçalo, Lídia Nicolau, Marisa Ferreira, Jorge Santos, Hélder Araújo & José Vingada

  3. Departamento de Biología de la Conservación, Estación Biológica de Doñana-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (EBD-CSIC), Americo Vespucio s/n Isla de la Cartuja, 41092, Seville, Spain

    Joan Giménez

  4. Campus do Mar, International Campus of Excellence, Pontevedra, Spain

    Jorge Santos & Hélder Araújo

  5. Campus do Mar, International Campus of Excellence, Braga, Portugal

    Jorge Santos & Hélder Araújo

  6. IPMA-Portuguese Institute for the Sea and Atmosphere, Avenida de Brasília, Lisbon, Portugal

    Alexandra Silva

  7. Oceanlab, University of Aberdeen, Main Street, Newburgh, Aberdeenshire, AB41 6AA, UK

    Graham J. Pierce

  8. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas (CSIC), Eduardo Cabello 6, 36208, Vigo, Spain

    Graham J. Pierce

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  1. Ana Marçalo
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Marçalo, A., Nicolau, L., Giménez, J. et al. Feeding ecology of the common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) in Western Iberian waters: has the decline in sardine (Sardina pilchardus) affected dolphin diet?. Mar Biol 165, 44 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-018-3285-3

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