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Stingrays as possible facilitators for foraging trevallies in a nearshore sandflat

Authors:
Jeremy J. Kiszka at Florida International University
Jeremy J. Kiszka
Michael Heithaus at Florida International University
Michael Heithaus
Jean-Pascal Quod
Jean-Pascal Quod
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OCEANARIUM
Stingrays as possible facilitators for foraging trevallies
in a nearshore sandflat
Jeremy J. Kiszka &Michael R. Heithaus &Jean-Pascal Quod
Received: 28 October 2014 /Revised: 3 December 2014 / Accepted: 5 December 2014 /Published online: 30 December 2014
#Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014
Mixed-species associations are temporary aggregations
of individuals of different species that are driven by
improved foraging, anti-predator benefits, and host/
cleaner relationships (Morse 1977). Host/cleaner rela-
tionships are common among fishes, including between
elasmobranchs and teleosts (Papastamatiou et al. 2007).
However, the function of associations between teleosts
and elasmobranchs for other purposes is poorly de-
scribed (Heithaus et al. 2010).
On 27 April 2013, in the waters of Petite-Terre,
along the north shore of Terre de Bas (Guadeloupe
archipelago, 16°10’23.10”N, 61°06’32.41”W), a
∼90 cm (disk width) southern stingray (Dasyatis
americana) was observed (∼15 min) and filmed
(102 s) in association with a ∼40 cm bar jack (Caranx
ruber). The observation occurred at 340 pm in shallow
waters (<1.5 m) over a sandflat that is adjacent to a
coral reef ecosystem. Video footage shows the jack
swimming above the ray and actively maintaining the
association during periods when the ray stopped to
forage or changed headings (Fig. 1a,seesupplementary
material). During extractive foraging by the ray, the jack
was observed inspecting the sand plume expelled by the
ray and striking at prey that were dislodged (Fig. 1b). It
therefore appears that the jack was associated to the
stingray to forage and may have been able to access
otherwise unavailable resources.
Similar commensal associations were observed in the
Pacific Ocean by two of the authors (JJK and JPQ),
where trevallies were associated with stingrays for for-
aging purposes: at Cocos Island (5°31’08’N,
87°04’18”W), involving the bluefin trevally (Caranx
melampygus) and the black-spotted stingray (Taen i uro p s
meyeni), and in the lagoon of Tetiaroa, French Polynesia
(17°0’S, 149°33”W), where several associations between
pink whiprays (Himantura fai) and both bluefin and
giant trevallies (Caranx ignobilis) were observed. Sting-
rays were always alone, but up to three trevallies could
be observed with a single ray. In several of these cases,
trevallies were seen lunging in plumes created by rays.
Although other benefits to trevallies (e.g. reduced pre-
dation risk) cannot be discounted, we hypothesize that
rays constitute facilitators for foraging trevallies. As
documented for other batoids such as bat rays
(Myliobatus californica) and round stingrays (Urobatis
halleri)(VanBaricom1982; Heithaus et al. 2010), sting-
rays in coral reef ecosystems may facilitate other pred-
ators that take advantage of prey that are disturbed or
excavated during ray foraging.
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article
(doi:10.1007/s12526-014-0304-6) contains supplementary material,
which is available to authorized users.
J. J. Kiszka (*):M. R. Heithaus
Florida InternationalUniversity, 3000 NE 151st Street, North Miami,
FL 33181, USA
e-mail: jeremy.kiszka@gmail.com
J.<P. Quod
ARVAM, La Technopole, 97400 Sainte-Clothilde, La Réunion
Mar Biodiv (2015) 45:625–626
DOI 10.1007/s12526-014-0304-6
References
Heithaus MR, Frid A, Vaudo JJ, Worm B, Wirsing A (2010) Unravelling
the ecological importance of elasmobranchs. In: Carrier JC, Musick
JA, Heithaus MR (eds) Sharks and their relatives II: biodiversity,
adaptive physiology and conservation. CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp
611–637
Morse DH (1977) Feeding behavior and predator avoidance in
heterospecific groups. Bioscience 27:332–339
Papastamatiou YP, Meyer CG, Maragos JE (2007) Sharks as cleaners for
reef fish. Coral Reefs 26:277
VanBaricom GR (1982) Experimental analyses of structural regulation in
a marine sand community exposed to oceanic well. Ecol Monogr 52:
283–305
Fig. 1 Association between an American stingray (Dasyatis americana)
and a bar jack (Caranx ruber) off the island of Terre de Bas (Petite-Terre,
Guadeloupe archipelago): aThe jack was mostly observed travelling
above the foraging stingray; bWhen the stingray detected prey and
produced a small sand plume, the jack lunged towards the anterior part
of the ray to catch prey
626 Mar Biodiv (2015) 45:625–626
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