Hunting behavior of a solitary sailfish Istiophorus platypterus and estimated energy gain after prey capture.

ABSTRACT: Foraging behavior and interaction with prey is an integral component of the ecological niche of predators but is inherently difficult to observe for highly mobile animals in the marine environment. Billfishes have been described as energy speculators, expending a large amount of energy foraging, expecting to offset high costs with periodic high energetic gain. Surface-based group feeding of sailfish, Istiophorus platypterus, is commonly observed, yet sailfish are believed to be largely solitary roaming predators with high metabolic requirements, suggesting that individual foraging also represents a major component of predator-prey interactions. Here, we use biologging data and video to examine daily activity levels and foraging behavior, estimate metabolic costs, and document a solitary pr

SUBMITTER: Logan RK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9883507 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature