Abstract

The trophic dynamic of jack mackerel Trachurus symmetricus murphyi, caught off the coast of northern Chile, between the spring 1993 and winter 1994, is described. Relative importance of prey taxa, identification of ontogenetic trophic units and prey selectivity by size was evaluated. The main prey in terms of relative importance were euphausids, for all seasons analyzed. Another important prey was mesopelagic fish Vinciguerria sp. Three ontogenetic trophic units were identified, within the size range of 21 to 35 cm fork length. The selectivity analysis of preys by size indicated that the large size prey in the stomach content was Engraulis ringens. Besides, this prey was the more selected together with Chaetognatha. The size frequency distribution of E. ringens in the stomach of jack mackerel overlapped partially with the sizes frequency distribution of E. ringens obtained from the commercial captures, being in the first case of smaller size that in the second.