Stomach contents of spiny dogfish Squalus acanthias L. off the west coast of Ireland

摘要

A dietary analysis was conducted on 254 commercially caught spiny dogfish, between September 1997 and September 1998. Fish formed the majority of the diet, with a total of eight species recorded. Scomber scombrus and Limanda limanda were the most important fish species, and bite marks on the recovered items indicate that the former were attacked from behind, while the latter were attacked from the side. Cephalopods were the only other prey recorded, and were represented by two species, Octopus vulgaris and Eledone cirrhosa. The prey recovered indicates that spiny dogfish feed throughout the water column, as well as on the bottom, and over a variety of substrates. The amount of prey recovered on a monthly basis was variable, but it is unclear if this is due to variations in feeding intensity or to the method of specimen collection.