Publication Date:
2017-09-18
Description:
A detailed analysis of lower rostral beak length (LRL) to body
size and wet body mass measurements was carried out for the squids Loligo forbesi,
Todarodes sagittatus and Todaropsis eblanae. Specimens were sampled in the northern
North Sea during two research cruises of FRV WALTHER HERWIG III in January/February
of 1998 and 1999. Altogether 241 specimens of Loligo forbesi (ML = 45–376 mm), 108
specimens of Todarodes sagittatus (ML = 173–325 mm) and 97 specimens of Todaropsis
eblanae (ML = 30–127 mm) were investigated to correlate lower rostral beak length with
both mantle length and wet body mass. Linear relationships between LRL and mantle
length and powerfunctional relationships between LRL and wet body mass were calculated
for all three species. By calculating these correlations separately for males and females,
no obvious sex-specific relationships were found. The presented data will upgrade
the information on beak/mantle length/body mass relationships of major cephalopod species
of the North Sea. They provide essential information for future use in estimates of
cephalopod prey biomass in North East Atlantic top predators such as whales, seals, seabirds
and fishes.
Type:
Article
,
PeerReviewed
