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Diet of scalloped hammerhead shark in eastern Gulf of Mexico

Metadata Updated: April 1, 2024

Juvenile scalloped hammerhead sharks, Sphyrna lewini, were collected in northwest Florida to examine foraging ecology, bioenergetics, and trophic level (30-60 cm FL mean FL 41.5 cm n 196). Diet analysis was performed using single and compound measures of prey quantity. Diet was also analyzed using seven broad diet categories (DC). Diet composition and estimated daily ration were compared to previously published information on bonnethead sharks, S. tiburo. Diet overlap was low between species. Juvenile S. lewini feed on relatively small (85 of prey items 5 shark length) teleosts (mostly bothids and sciaenids) and shrimps, whereas S. tiburo have been documented to feed mostly on crustaceans and plant material in northwest Florida. Plant material contributed little to the diet of S. lewini. Estimated daily ration was significantly lower for S. lewini (4.6 BW d-1) than for S. tiburo in northwest Florida, regardless if plant material was included in the model (p0.02 including and p0.00001 excluding plant material). Trophic level was calculated at 4.0 for S. lewini and 2.6 for S. tiburo. Stable isotope analysis showed S. lewini had significantly higher 15N values and significantly lower 13C values than S. tiburo, supporting the difference observed in calculated trophic level. These results provide evidence that small juvenile hammerhead species co-exist in coastal northwest Florida by feeding at separate trophic levels.

Access & Use Information

License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

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Dates

Metadata Date February 29, 2024
Metadata Created Date July 28, 2023
Metadata Updated Date April 1, 2024
Reference Date(s) 1998 (creation), 2017 (revision), 2017 (publication)
Frequency Of Update notPlanned

Metadata Source

Harvested from NMFS SEFSC

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Date February 29, 2024
Metadata Created Date July 28, 2023
Metadata Updated Date April 1, 2024
Reference Date(s) 1998 (creation), 2017 (revision), 2017 (publication)
Responsible Party (Custodian)
Contact Email
Guid gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:24913
Access Constraints Cite As: Southeast Fisheries Science Center, [Date of Access]: Diet of scalloped hammerhead shark in eastern Gulf of Mexico [Data Date Range], https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/24913., Access Constraints: None, Use Constraints: Please cite appropriately.
Bbox East Long -85.087
Bbox North Lat 30.275
Bbox South Lat 29.652
Bbox West Long -85.887
Coupled Resource
Frequency Of Update notPlanned
Harvest Object Id 6845fdbd-f428-417c-8a56-b6fae5995bd8
Harvest Source Id ca759a40-507d-4d0c-8f8c-64b3c5e05066
Harvest Source Title NMFS SEFSC
Licence NOAA provides no warranty, nor accepts any liability occurring from any incomplete, incorrect, or misleading data, or from any incorrect, incomplete, or misleading use of the data. It is the responsibility of the user to determine whether or not the data is suitable for the intended purpose.
Lineage
Metadata Language eng
Metadata Type geospatial
Old Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[-85.887, 29.652], [-85.087, 29.652], [-85.087, 30.275], [-85.887, 30.275], [-85.887, 29.652]]]}
Progress completed
Spatial Data Service Type
Spatial Reference System
Spatial Harvester True
Temporal Extent Begin 1998
Temporal Extent End 2005

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