Diet of the Pacific sierra Scomberomorus sierra (Perciformes: Scombridae) in three areas of North West Mexico

Abstract

We describe for the first time the trophic spectrum and diet breadth instead width of the Pacific sierra Scomberomorus sierra, in two areas of north-west Mexico. We analyzed a total of 178 stomachs, 131 from Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico, and 47 from Bahia Almejas, Baja California Sur. The index of relative importance (IRI) was used to rank the main food components. The results determined that in these two areas that S. sierra is an opportunistic ichthyophagous predator, consuming mainly fish species that form dense schools (families Clupeidae and Engraulidae), as well as cephalopods as a smaller proportion of the food items for this important sport and commercial fish along the north-west Mexico coast.