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New evidence of a fish–bird interspecific feeding association between the European seabass and the European shag in the Mediterranean Sea

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Abstract

Although they have received little attention, interspecific feeding associations are a particular predation behavior in which two or more different species temporary feed simultaneously on the same food sources to obtain greater success in predation. These collaborations can be either mutualistic, commensalistic, or parasitic. One of the best-known examples is the seabird–cetacean associations. Prey herding is the foraging tactic most used in these associations and consists of swimming around and under prey balls to trap them in the water column. Here we reported some new evidence of a fish–bird interspecific feeding association between the European seabass, Dicentrarchus labrax (Linnaeus, 1758) and the European shag, Gulosus aristotelis (Linnaeus, 1761). We analyzed this association through the photograph and video documentation provided by “citizen scientists” in the Mediterranean Sea. We collected reliable proofs of this behavior, at least, in three instances from observations made by recreational fishermen in the Kvarner bay (Croatia, North Adriatic Sea). From the photographs and videos made available, we attempted to reconstruct a predation strategy adopted by these associated species to better understand the advantage this provides during hunting. Although it is not yet clear whether this association is an opportunistic behavior of the European seabass or a mutualistic strategy used by both species to improve their catching success, this feeding association seems to increase the chances to defeat prey defense strategies. Notably, some behavioral imitation of hunting strategies may be put in place by seabasses, which often feed in association with dolphins and other birds using similar prey herding strategies.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Luka Nolden and Nejc Kotar for providing photographs and videos and making them available for our analysis and publication.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biological Institute, Tomsk State University, Tomsk, Russia

    Roberto Cazzolla Gatti

  2. Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research, Klosterneuburg, Austria

    Roberto Cazzolla Gatti

  3. Ente Fauna Marina Mediterranea, Avola, Italy

    Pero Ugarkovic & Francesco Tiralongo

  4. Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Catania, Catania, Italy

    Francesco Tiralongo

Authors
  1. Roberto Cazzolla Gatti
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  2. Pero Ugarkovic
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  3. Francesco Tiralongo
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Correspondence to Francesco Tiralongo.

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Gatti, R.C., Ugarkovic, P. & Tiralongo, F. New evidence of a fish–bird interspecific feeding association between the European seabass and the European shag in the Mediterranean Sea. Aquat Ecol 55, 1113–1119 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-021-09868-z

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