Spatiotemporal patterns of trophic niche variation within and among species of tropical coastal fishes

Intraspecific niche variation shapes the structure and function of food webs, but we still know little about the magnitude and drivers of trophic variation within species in species-rich communities. Here, we examined how intrinsic (sex and life stage) and extrinsic (locality and season) factors affect the diet composition and trophic niche width of tropical fish species. Specifically, we studied co-occurring species with benthopelagic (Stellifer ericymba, S. melanocheir, S. zestocarus, and Larimus argenteus) and benthic feeding habits (S. strabo, Cathorops manglarensis, Notarius troschelii, and Urotrygon rogersi) on the central Pacific coast of Colombia. Overall, we observed strong spatial and seasonal effects driving variation in the consumption of (i) amphipods, copepods, and decapods for benthopelagic species and (ii) molluscs and polychaetes for benthic species. As expected, we observed little sexual diet variation; however, surprisingly, most species showed little ontogenetic diet..., This data set corresponds to the prey items found in the stomach contents of the fish species analyzed. Each data base contains the locality, season, sex (female, male, indeterminate), size (total length, standard length), and life stage (Adult, Juvenile, indeterminate) of each individual. For each prey item, we provide the specific abundance and weight (to the nearest milligram). , , # Spatiotemporal patterns of trophic niche variation within and among species of tropical coastal fishes [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.18931zd6r](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.18931zd6r) ## Description of the data and file structure This data set consists of a Stomach_contents_DB.csv file that corresponds to the prey items found in the stomach contents of the several fish species that were obtained from artisanal shrimp-trawl fishery operations in both bays between July 2014 and October 2015 in the outer zones of Buenaventura Bay (BB) and Málaga Bay (MB) on the central Pacific coast of Colombia. We adopted a two-day sampling design to cover two sites in the outer zone of each bay. Sampling was conducted simultaneously (0900-1200 hr) by two groups of researchers. The data file \"Stomach_contents_DB\" contains the data information of seven tropical fish species (i.e., *Stellifer melanocheir, S. zestocarus, S. ericymba*, *S. strabo, Larimus argenteus, C. manglarensis* and *Notarius trosc...种内生态位分化塑造食物网的结构与功能，但针对物种丰富群落中物种内部的营养变异程度及其驱动因素，目前我们仍所知有限。本研究探讨了内在因素（性别与生活史阶段）与外在因素（采样地点与季节）对热带鱼类食物组成及营养生态位宽度的影响。具体而言，我们以哥伦比亚中部太平洋沿岸的共域鱼类为研究对象，涵盖两类摄食习性类群：底中水层性（benthopelagic）鱼类（包括*Stellifer ericymba*、S. melanocheir、S. zestocarus及Larimus argenteus）与底栖性（benthic）鱼类（包括S. strabo、Cathorops manglarensis、Notarius troschelii及Urotrygon rogersi）。整体分析结果显示，空间与季节因素对两类鱼类的摄食模式存在显著调控作用：其一为底中水层性物种对端足类、桡足类及十足类的摄食差异，其二为底栖性物种对软体动物与多毛类的摄食差异。正如预期，我们未观察到显著的性别间摄食分化；但令人意外的是，多数物种的个体发育摄食变化…… 本数据集对应分析所用鱼类物种的胃容物猎物类群。每个数据库包含每尾个体的采样地点、季节、性别（雌性、雄性、未确定）、体长（总长度、标准长度）以及生活史阶段（成体、幼体、未确定）。针对每类猎物，我们提供了其具体丰度与重量（精确至毫克）。 # 热带沿岸鱼类种内与种间营养生态位变异的时空格局 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.18931zd6r](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.18931zd6r) ## 数据与文件结构说明 本数据集包含Stomach_contents_DB.csv文件，对应2014年7月至2015年10月期间，在哥伦比亚中部太平洋沿岸布埃纳文图拉湾（BB）与马拉加湾（MB）外围海域，通过人工虾拖网捕捞作业获取的多种鱼类的胃容物猎物数据。本研究采用两日采样方案，覆盖每个海湾外围的两个采样点位。两组研究人员同步开展采样（采样时段为09:00-12:00）。数据集文件"Stomach_contents_DB"包含7种热带鱼类的数据信息，即*Stellifer melanocheir*、S. zestocarus、S. ericymba、S. strabo、Larimus argenteus、C. manglarensis及Notarius troschelii……