# Diet and prey selectivity in co-occurring eelpout fish and bythograeid crabs in a deep-sea hydrothermal vent community

## TL;DR

This study examines the diets of eelpouts and crabs in a deep-sea hydrothermal vent community to better understand their ecological roles.

## Contribution

The study combines stomach content analysis and stable isotope data to reveal predator-prey relationships in a deep-sea environment.

## Key findings

- Eelpouts strongly prefer alvinocaridid shrimp, as shown by the Ivlev index.
- Crabs have a diverse diet, including polychaetes and shrimp, indicating scavenging or omnivorous behavior.
- Stomach content analysis is crucial for understanding trophic relationships in hydrothermal vent systems.

## Abstract

Understanding the trophic ecology of deep-sea communities is central to assessing ecological structure and function, which is often lacking in remote oceanographic environments such as hydrothermal vents. Using stomach content analysis coupled with published stable isotope data, we assessed diet and prey selectivity in two common predators, eelpouts (Pyrolycus manusanus) and crabs (Austinograea alayseae), from a South Pacific deep-sea hydrothermal vent community. Using specimens collected during a cruise in 2007, we found that eelpouts strongly preferred alvinocarididshrimp. This observation is s upported by the Ivlev index, which measures the selection of prey in relation to their abundance or availability. Crabs exhibited a diverse diet, including polychaetes and shrimp, suggesting a scavenging or omnivorous feeding strategy. Due to the lack of intact stomach contents in the crab, we were unable to apply the Ivlev method to quantify its prey selectivity. Our results emphasize the need to combine stomach contents, stable isotope analysis, and other complementary methodologies, to elucidate the role of predators in deep-sea food webs. In sum, our study underscores the importance of direct stomach content examination in revealing trophic relationships in hydrothermal vent systems.