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Abstract
The loliginid squid Alloteuthis media is not a commercial squid species in the Western Mediterranean Sea, and its trophic ecology is poorly known. Nevertheless, its importance as a prey resource for other squids, marine mammals and even crustaceans has been pointed out in the last decade. We analysed 124 organisms with a mantle length between 1.9 cm and 9.4 cm caught by commercial trawls in the Western Mediterranean Sea during the summer of 2013. Their diet consisted of mesopelagic and micronektonic organisms, mostly myctophid fish, and to a lesser extent crustaceans and molluscs. Based on our results, we can infer that A. media feeds on available prey suggesting active and opportunistic predatory behaviour. This agrees with information reported for other squid.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful for the invitation by Dr Isabel Palomera to R.R.L. to participate in a trawling survey within the frame of the ECOTRANS project (CTM2011-26333) where the specimens for this study were collected. R.R.L. thanks Raquel Sáez and Francisco Martinez for their help in collecting samples of A. media. We thank an anonymous reviewer for comments on the final English version.
Editorial responsibility: Haakon Hop