TY - JOUR
T1 - Characterizing the diet of Atlantic bluefin tuna Thunnus thynnus across its spatial range: a metadata analysis spanning over three decades
AU - Logan, John M.
AU - Butler, Christopher M.
AU - Fuller, Leanne
AU - Staudinger, Michelle D.
AU - Hoffmayer, Eric R.
AU - Hanisko, David
AU - Varela, José Luis
AU - Medina, Antonio
AU - de la Serna, José Miguel
AU - Godoy, Dolores
AU - Macías, David
AU - Golet, Walt
AU - Chase, Brad
AU - MacKenzie, Brian R.
AU - Olafsdottir, Droplaug
AU - Nadeau, Samantha
AU - Rodríguez-Marín, Enrique
AU - Ciavaglia, Elisa
AU - Tinti, Fausto
AU - Battaglia, Pietro
AU - Romeo, Teresa
AU - Andaloro, Franco
AU - Sinopoli, Mauro
AU - Karakulak, F. Saadet
AU - Salman, Alp
AU - Pleizier, Naomi
AU - Goñi, Nicolas
AU - Arrizabalaga, Haritz
AU - Itoh, Tomoyuki
AU - de Zárate, Victoria Ortiz
AU - Jansen, Teunis
PY - 2025
Y1 - 2025
N2 - Atlantic bluefin tuna Thunnus thynnus (ABFT) are highly migratory predators that feed across diverse foraging habitats throughout their range. ABFT diet has been characterized regionally, but a broader analysis is needed to help inform ecosystem-based management of these economically and ecologically important predators, given their environmental and spatial plasticity. We conducted a metadata analysis using assembled diet data from 1985–2020 (n = 4997 total stomachs; 4046 non-empty stomachs) for ABFT (6–328 cm straight fork length, SFL) from 9 Longhurst Provinces (LPs). ABFT trophic ecology was characterized by exploring relationships between (1) diet composition (using classification trees), (2) total stomach content weight (using generalized additive models, GAMs), and (3) predator–prey size (using quantile regression and GAMs) and spatial, temporal, biological, and environmental variables. Diet composition primarily differed by sampling year, LP, and ABFT SFL. Diet over the Northwest Atlantic shelf was distinct due to the prevalence of Clupeidae. Temporal splits in this region were based on consumption of Ammodytidae and Ommastrephidae in the earliest and latest years of our data set, respectively. Diet composition for the other LPs primarily differed based on SFL, with smaller ABFT (
AB - Atlantic bluefin tuna Thunnus thynnus (ABFT) are highly migratory predators that feed across diverse foraging habitats throughout their range. ABFT diet has been characterized regionally, but a broader analysis is needed to help inform ecosystem-based management of these economically and ecologically important predators, given their environmental and spatial plasticity. We conducted a metadata analysis using assembled diet data from 1985–2020 (n = 4997 total stomachs; 4046 non-empty stomachs) for ABFT (6–328 cm straight fork length, SFL) from 9 Longhurst Provinces (LPs). ABFT trophic ecology was characterized by exploring relationships between (1) diet composition (using classification trees), (2) total stomach content weight (using generalized additive models, GAMs), and (3) predator–prey size (using quantile regression and GAMs) and spatial, temporal, biological, and environmental variables. Diet composition primarily differed by sampling year, LP, and ABFT SFL. Diet over the Northwest Atlantic shelf was distinct due to the prevalence of Clupeidae. Temporal splits in this region were based on consumption of Ammodytidae and Ommastrephidae in the earliest and latest years of our data set, respectively. Diet composition for the other LPs primarily differed based on SFL, with smaller ABFT (
KW - Diet
KW - Food web
KW - Classification and regression tree
KW - Foraging
KW - Scombridae
U2 - 10.3354/meps14875
DO - 10.3354/meps14875
M3 - Journal article
SN - 0171-8630
VL - 763
SP - 127
EP - 155
JO - Marine Ecology Progress Series
JF - Marine Ecology Progress Series
ER -