Understanding the trophic ecology of marine predators is pivotal to assess their ecological role in the ecosystems and develop management actions. Despite the ecological importance of predatory pelagic fish species, the trophic role that individual species play within marine communities in many marine basins, such the Mediterranean Sea, remains unclear. In the present study, we aimed to provide new integrative information about the trophic ecology at different temporal scales of Atlantic bonito (Sarda sarda), little tunny (Euthynnus alletteratus) and swordfish (Xiphias gladius) in the north-western Mediterranean Sea. To quantify the trophic habits of these three species, we used stable isotopic analysis and isotopic mixing models from different tissues that integrate trophic information at different temporal scales (~1 month for liver, ~ several months for muscle, >1 year for fin). We found clear and consistent differences in the trophic habits among the three species and time spans within the same species. Although preying mainly on clupeiforms, Atlantic bonito and little tunny present a temporal segregation in the species preference, with Atlantic bonito preying mainly on European sardine and round sardinella at long-term, while little tunny preyed mainly on European anchovy. In the other hand, swordfish shows a more generalist trophic strategy with high preference for demersal prey. This study emphasises the utility of this integrative approach for trophic studies due to its capacity for monitoring trophic habits over different time spans.

了解海洋捕食者的营养生态对于评估其在生态系统中的生态作用并制定管理措施至关重要。尽管掠夺性上层鱼类物种具有生态重要性，但尚不清楚个别物种在许多海洋盆地（例如地中海）的海洋群落中所发挥的营养作用。在本研究中，我们旨在提供有关大西洋鱼（Sarda sarda），小金枪鱼（Euthynnus alletteratus）和剑鱼（Xiphias gladius）不同时间尺度的营养生态学的新综合信息。）在西北地中海。为了量化这三个物种的营养习性，我们使用了来自不同组织的稳定同位素分析和同位素混合模型，这些模型整合了不同时间尺度上的营养信息（肝脏约1个月，肌肉约数月，鳍约1年）。我们发现三种物种的营养习惯和同一物种内的时间跨度存在明显且一致的差异。大西洋鱼和小金枪鱼虽然主要捕食类钩形目，但在物种偏好上呈现暂时性隔离，长期捕捞大西洋鱼主要捕食欧洲沙丁鱼和沙丁鱼，而小金枪鱼主要捕食欧洲an鱼。另一方面，箭鱼显示了一种更具通用性的营养策略，对沉没的猎物高度偏爱。