Feeding strategies of the pelagic stingray (Pteroplatytrygon violacea) in the western Mediterranean Sea.

Elasmobranchs play crucial roles as predators in marine ecosystems. Understanding their trophic strategies and interactions is necessary for comprehending food web dynamics and developing ecosystem-based management strategies. Although, feeding strategies can change depending on several factors, including fluctuations in prey availability throughout the year. In this study, we investigated the trophic ecology of the pelagic stingray, Pteroplatytrygon violacea, the only stingray inhabiting the pelagic environment in the western Mediterranean Sea. We found significant temporal differences in diet composition, mostly consuming pelagic zooplankton in spring, whereas benthopelagic teleosts in autumn. After contrasting different studies, P. violacea appears to have a generalist and opportunistic diet consisting of a broad spectrum of pelagic and benthopelagic species, and trophic plasticity in response to environmental fluctuations. Our findings suggest that P. violacea can present different feeding strategies, mainly pelagic, with a relatively low trophic position for a mesopredator compared to other batoids.

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Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Salvador Garcia-Barcelona reports financial support was provided by European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). Matxalen Pauly reports financial support was provided by European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.