The blue shark (Prionace glauca) and the shortfin mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus) are two large and highly migratory sharks distributed in most oceans. Although they are often caught in the south Pacific Ocean long-line fisheries, their trophic ecology is poorly understood. Stable isotopes with Bayesian mixing and dependence concentration models were performed to determine the diet and trophic differences between the two species in the South-eastern Pacific Ocean. According to the mixing models, fishes are the most important prey of these sharks. Dolphin calves and remains were found in the stomachs of both species, which represents a novel finding in trophic ecology of South Pacific sharks. Intra-specific differences were found in P. glauca, but not in specimens of I. oxyrinchus. The two sharks showed a high degree of diet overlap (73%), primarily over mackerel and dolphin carcasses. Our results indicate that blue and shortfin mako sharks have a generalist feeding strategy in the eastern Pacific Ocean, with a strong preference for teleost fishes and also for dolphin carcasses. Therefore, trophic studies are useful to understand energy flow through the food web, and the trophic position of key species.

Partial migration, where migrant and resident organisms coexist within the same population, has been found in many fishes. Although it seems obvious that different life cycles exploit habitats and food webs differently, few assessments about the trophic consequences of partial migration are available. To unveil part of this complexity, we combined otolith chemistry with stable isotope analyses data for hind-casting Merluccius australis habitat use and diet composition at age. By providing detailed information about lifetime variability in diet, trophic position, and prey demand of four M. australis life-cycle types, we show that these groups feed differentially in estuarine and oceanic habitats throughout their ontogeny. Although trophic positions were similar between habitats for juvenile and subadults, substantial differences between life-cycle types were found regarding lifetime diet and trophic demand. Thus, the more abundant and heavily exploited oceanic stock of M. australis was heavily dependent of estuarine habitats within the Patagonian Fjords System, where it consumes large biomasses of Macruronus magellanicus, Pasiphaea, Sprattus fuegensis, and Euphausiidae at earlier stages. We show ignoring trophic consequences of partial migration and life-cycle diversity may produce highly biased results, both in terms of prey and habitat use, which appears critical for multispecies and ecosystem management approaches.

Our study investigates the trophic ecology of the anchoveta (Engraulis ringens). The anchoveta plays a key role in the Greater Humboldt Ecosystem and is extensively exploited by countries from the south-eastern Pacific Ocean. For a comprehensive study of trophic ecology, we employed a combined approach that included stomach content analysis, stable isotope analysis, and scaled mass index of body condition. Our results showed that the multivariate composition of the diet varies significantly between life stage and fishing zones in Chile. Copepods and euphausiids emerged as the dominant prey found in the stomachs across all fisheries zones. Stable isotope analysis revealed significant differences among different zones. The scaled mass index values were higher in the northern zone compared to the southern zones, for both juveniles and adults. This research carries significant implications for fisheries management and conservation efforts, such as the development of targeted management strategies that address variations in the trophic structure of anchoveta across different life stages and fishing zones.

El besugo, Epigonus crassicaudus, es una especie de importancia económica para la actividad pesquera que opera en el centro-sur de Chile. A pesar de ello, poco es lo que se conoce respecto a su biología. En este sentido, este trabajo estudió los hábitos alimentarios combinando análisis estomacales y de estabilidad isotópica. Los resultados del análisis dan cuenta de la importancia de los peces mesopelágicos (Myctophidae, Stomiidae) en la dieta con un aporte del 80%, seguido por crustáceos (Sergestes arcticus) alcanzando un 10%. No se detectaron diferencias en la dieta en peces con distinto grado de madurez sexual. En tanto, los valores de los isótopos de nitrógeno y carbono mostraron valores de promedio de 17,12 ± 1,1 δ 15N y de -17,51 ± 0,7 δ 13C, respectivamente. La constitución de valores de δ 13C fue proporcional al tamaño corporal de los besugos: individuos de mayor tamaño habitan en ambientes más demersales que ejemplares de menor tamaño. De acuerdo a estos resultados, el besugo se sitúa como consumidor secundario.

Little has been studied of the food metrics of most chondrichthyans, which provide baseline information for the assessment of fishing status to guide the development of ecosystem-based management plans. Therefore, the main goal of this study was to approach the isotopic niche of Dipturus chilensis and Callorhinchus callorynchus in Valparaíso (central Chile). The main findings showed that C. callorynchus presented a narrow ellipse (E= 0.79; RC= 4.14; θ= 1.39), meanwhile D. chilensis, presented an ellipse with greater extension (E= 0.95; RC= 8,23; θ= -0.11), therefore a wide isotopic niche.