This data contains morphology measurements of the Atlantic Sharpnose shark and stomach content analysis.

This Archival Information Package (AIP) contains basic biological information of Atlantic sharpnose shark and specific (by stomach and prey item) diet information for the Atlantic sharpnose shark. Data were collected by the NMFS Southeast Fisheries Science Center; Panama City, FL Laboratory in the Northeast Gulf of Mexico from 2000 to 2003. Data are in comma separated value (CSV) format and include sex, maturity, number of prey items

Atlantic sharpnose shark Rhizoprionodon terraenovae diet is described from Crooked Island Sound, an embayment of the northeast Gulf of Mexico. Diet was assessed by life-stage and quantified using six indices: percent by number, percent by weight, frequency of occurrence, the index of relative importance (IRI), IRI expressed on a percent basis (IRI), and IRI based on prey category (IRIPC). Young-of-the-year sharks (n56) fed on a mix of teleosts (mostly clupeids, 44.6 IRIPC) and invertebrates (combined, 25.1 IRIPC), juveniles (n185) on sciaenids (40.7 IRIPC) and clupeids (37.8 IRIPC), and adults (n105) on sciaenids (71.4 IRIPC). Differences in diet by site and ontogeny were tested by comparing diet from Crooked Island Sound with published information from St. Vincent Island in Apalachicola Bay, an adjacent estuary. Stomach contents were also used to expand on published prey size-predator size information.

Juvenile scalloped hammerhead sharks, Sphyrna lewini, were collected in northwest Florida to examine foraging ecology, bioenergetics, and trophic level (30-60 cm FL mean FL 41.5 cm n 196). Diet analysis was performed using single and compound measures of prey quantity. Diet was also analyzed using seven broad diet categories (DC). Diet composition and estimated daily ration were compared to previously published information on bonnethead sharks, S. tiburo. Diet overlap was low between species. Juvenile S. lewini feed on relatively small (85 of prey items 5 shark length) teleosts (mostly bothids and sciaenids) and shrimps, whereas S. tiburo have been documented to feed mostly on crustaceans and plant material in northwest Florida. Plant material contributed little to the diet of S. lewini. Estimated daily ration was significantly lower for S. lewini (4.6 BW d-1) than for S. tiburo in northwest Florida, regardless if plant material was included in the model (p0.02 including and p0.00001 excluding plant material). Trophic level was calculated at 4.0 for S. lewini and 2.6 for S. tiburo. Stable isotope analysis showed S. lewini had significantly higher 15N values and significantly lower 13C values than S. tiburo, supporting the difference observed in calculated trophic level. These results provide evidence that small juvenile hammerhead species co-exist in coastal northwest Florida by feeding at separate trophic levels.

To examine variation in diet and daily ration of the bonnethead, Sphyrna tiburo (Linnaeus, 1758), sharks were collected from three areas in the eastern Gulf of Mexico: northwest Florida (29o40N, 85o13W), Anclote Key near Tampa Bay (28o10N, 82o42.5W), and Florida Bay (24o50N, 80o48W) from March through September, 1998-2000. In each area, diet was assessed by life stage (young-of-the year, juveniles, and adults) and quantified using five indices: percent by number (N), percent by weight (W), frequency of occurrence (O), index of relative importance expressed on a percent basis (IRI), and IRI based on diet category (IRIDC). Diet could not be assessed for young-of-the-year in Tampa Bay or Florida Bay owing to low sample size. Diet analysis showed an ontogenetic shift in northwest Florida. Young-of-the-year stomachs from northwest Florida (n68, 1 empty) contained a mix of seagrass and crustaceans while juvenile stomachs (n82, 0 empty) contained a mix of crabs and seagrass and adult stomachs (n39, 1 empty) contained almost exclusively crabs. Crabs made up the majority of both juvenile and adult diet in Tampa Bay (n79, 2 empty, and n88, 1 empty, respectively). Juvenile stomachs from Florida Bay (n72, 0 empty) contained seagrass and a mix of crustaceans while adult stomachs contained more shrimp and cephalopods (n82, 3 empty). Diets in northwest Florida and Tampa Bay were similar. The diet in Florida Bay was different from those in the other two areas, consisting of fewer crabs and more cephalopods and lobsters. Plant material was found in large quantities in all stomachs examined from all locations (15 IRIDC in 6 of the 7 life stage-area combinations, 30 IRIDC in 4 of the 7 combinations, and 62 IRIDC in young-of-the-year diet in northwest Florida). Using species- and area-specific inputs, a bioenergetic model was constructed to estimate daily ration. Models were constructed under two scenarios: assuming plant material was and was not part of the diet. Overall, daily ration was significantly different by sex, life stage, and region. The bioenergetic model predicted increasing daily ration with decreasing latitude and decreasing daily ration with ontogeny regardless of the inclusion or exclusion of plant material. These results provide evidence that bonnetheads continuously exposed to warmer temperatures have elevated metabolism and require additional energy consumption to maintain growth and reproduction.

This Archive Information Package (AIP) contains basic biological information and specific (by stomach and prey item) diet information for blacktip sharks. Data were collected by the NMFS Southeast Fisheries Science Center; Panama City, FL Laboratory, through the observer programs, and other fishery independent surveys in the coastal waters of Florida. Data are in comma separated value (CSV) format and include length, sex, number of prey items, and stomach content analysis. Stomach contents and catch data of early life stages of blacktip sharks (Carcharhinus limbatus) were examined to test for overlap in resource use.

Reproductive data from Atlantic sharpnose sharks were collected from specimens captured throughout the northern Gulf of Mexico on various research vessels. Data included those necessary to describe the size at maturity, reproductive cycle, mating period, gestation time and fecundity of the species.

This Archival Information Package (AIP) contains basic biological information on bonnethead and scalloped hammerhead sharks with specific (by stomach and prey item) diet information for these two species. Data were collected by the NMFS Southeast Fisheries Science Center; Panama City, FL Laboratory in the Northeast Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida from 1998 to 2005. Data are in comma separated value (CSV) format and include length, sex, and number of prey items.

The Marine Mammal Laboratory (MML) Food Habits Reference Collection, containing over 1000 specimens of cephalopod beaks and fish bones and otoliths, is used to identify undigested prey remains found in scats or stomachs of stranded or incidentally taken pinnipeds and cetaceans. Marine mammal food habits data are used in conjunction with satellite telemetry and dive records to better understand foraging behavior and prey selection. This information is critical to understanding how commercial fisheries and changing environmental conditions impact these animals. The Food Habits Collection includes fish and cephalopod species that are commonly consumed by pinnipeds along the Pacific Northwest coast and in Alaska, but we are in the process of adding other potential prey species and specimens to fill unrepresented size ranges. We are very appreciative of NMFS/AFSC/RACE fisheries biologists, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the University of Washington for their ongoing donations to our collection. With the help and cooperation of researchers such as these, our collection continues to grow in size and usefulness. The Marine Mammal Food Habits Reference Collection is an important research tool within NMML, and is also used several times a year by graduate students and researchers from universities, government agencies and private institutions. These collections have contributed to food habits research on Magister armhook squid, Northern fulmar, Newells shearwater, Hawaiian petrel, river otters and marine mammals. The collections are also used by archeologists to identify fish and mammal bones found in Native American middens from Alaska to Mexico. The database is comprised of a table detailing specimens and associated data and measurements for fish and cephalopod soft tissue and hard parts contained within the reference collection.