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Feeding ecomorphology of seven demersal marine fish species in the Mexican Pacific Ocean

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Abstract

How fish functional morphology shapes species co-existence and assemblage diversity patterns is a fundamental issue in ecological research. In fishes, much is known about the ecomorphological relationships of feeding morphology in coral reef fishes and in freshwater taxa inhabiting distinct environments. However, little is known about the patterns and processes shaping morphological variation in other oceanic taxa; particularly those inhabiting soft bottom habitats. In this study, we assessed patterns of feeding ecomorphology in seven demersal teleost species associated with soft bottoms of the continental shelf in the central Mexican Pacific Ocean. Feeding analyses indicated that some species groups shared similar diets. Likewise, patterns of morphological variation based on geometric morphometrics demonstrated that some taxa did not differ in body shape, while patterns of variation in other species were seen in body length and height, caudal peduncle height and the anal fin anterior insertion point. A multivariate association between diet composition data and overall body shape indicated significant ecomorphological relationships, describing a continuum between species displaying benthopelagic morphology and specializing on prey with high speed swimming ability (Engraulidae), versus species with benthic morphology and specializing on fast escape prey (crustacea). The clear ecomorphological patterns observed for these seven species at both the individual and species levels imply that environmental conditions and resource availability allow these taxa to differentially inhabit and exploit the soft bottom ecosystem. Fish diversity is principally represented by the benthic morphology, although benthopelagic morphology, also show a high degree of success in this environment.

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Acknowledgments

This research was partially funded by the following projects: Mexico’s National Council of Science and Technology (Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología, CONACyT; SEP-CONACyT 180894) and National Polytechnical Institute (Instituto Politécnico Nacional, IPN; SIP-IPN 20140234). The authors thank the Adams Evolutionary and Theoretical Morphology Lab at Iowa State University, and its members for the methodology and data analysis support. JBH was funded by a scholarship from CONACyT and the Comprehensive Institute Building Program (Programa Integral de Fortalecimiento Institucional, PIFI) from the IPN for the M.Sc. and Ph.D. studies. VHCE was supported by programs from the IPN: Stimulus for the Researchers Performance (Estímulos al Desempeño de los INvestigadores, EDI) and Comission for the Operational and Promotion of Academic Activities (Comisión de Operación y Fomento de Actividades Académicas, COFAA). Capture and processing of fish followed the Mexican official regulation norm for shrimp fisheries (Diario Oficial de la Federación 2014). The authors also thank David Noakes and two anonymous referees for their excellent suggestions on an earlier version of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratorio de Ecología de Pinnípedos “Burney J. Le Boeuf”, Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, CP 23096, La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico

    Jimena Bohórquez-Herrera

  2. Fundación Colombiana para la Investigación y Conservación de Tiburones y Rayas (SQUALUS), Cali, Colombia

    Jimena Bohórquez-Herrera

  3. Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, CP 23096, La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico

    Víctor H. Cruz-Escalona

  4. Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 5001, USA

    Dean C. Adams

  5. Department of Coastal Sciences, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, 39564, USA

    Mark S. Peterson

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  1. Jimena Bohórquez-Herrera
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  2. Víctor H. Cruz-Escalona
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  3. Dean C. Adams
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  4. Mark S. Peterson
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Correspondence to Jimena Bohórquez-Herrera.

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Bohórquez-Herrera, J., Cruz-Escalona, V.H., Adams, D.C. et al. Feeding ecomorphology of seven demersal marine fish species in the Mexican Pacific Ocean. Environ Biol Fish 98, 1459–1473 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-014-0373-1

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