Stable isotope analyses reveal unique trophic role of reef manta rays (Mobula alfredi) at a remote coral reef.

ABSTRACT: Stable isotope analyses provide the means to examine the trophic role of animals in complex food webs. Here, we used stable isotope analyses to characterize the feeding ecology of reef manta rays (Mobula alfredi) at a remote coral reef in the Western Indian Ocean. Muscle samples of M. alfredi were collected from D'Arros Island and St. Joseph Atoll, Republic of Seychelles, in November 2016 and 2017. Prior to analysis, lipid and urea extraction procedures were tested on freeze-dried muscle tissue in order to standardize sample treatment protocols for M. alfredi. The lipid extraction procedure was effective at removing both lipids and urea from samples and should be used in future studies of the trophic ecology of this species. The isotopic signatures of nitrogen (δ¹

SUBMITTER: Peel LR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6774984 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature