Comparison of the feeding apparatus and diet of European sardines Sardina pilchardus of Atlantic and Mediterranean waters: ecological implications

In this study, the feeding apparatus (gill rakers, GR ) and the diet composition of European sardine Sardina pilchardus populations living in two contrasting environments were compared: the upwelling area off western Iberia and the comparatively less productive region of the north‐western Mediterranean Sea. The importance of local adaptations in the trophic ecology of this species was estimated. Sardina pilchardus from the Atlantic Iberian coast and from the north‐western Mediterranean Sea have clear differences in the feeding apparatus and diet compositions. Those from the Atlantic Iberian coast have significantly more GRs than S. pilchardus of the same size range in the Mediterranean Sea. While S. pilchardus from the Mediterranean Sea mostly depend on prey ranging between 750–1500 and 3000–4000 µm, corresponding mostly to cladocerans, decapods and copepods, those from the Atlantic depend on smaller prey (50–500 and 1000–1500 µm) that include phytoplankton and copepods, particularly during summer months, and S. pilchardus eggs during the winter. The marked difference between the trophic ecology of S. pilchardus in the two areas studied appears to have originated from different dietary strategies that the two populations have adopted in contrasting feeding environments. These differences are shown to profoundly affect the size and quality of prey consumed, and the effect of cannibalism on the populations.