Dietary overlap of carcharhinid sharks in the Gulf of Papua

Assessing the feeding patterns of sharks provides insight into ecological interactions. Three coastal are common by-catch in Gulf Papua prawn fishery New Guinea. The diets Carcharhinus coatesi (n = 122), Rhizoprionodon acutus 83) and taylori 177) were assessed using stomach content analysis. Teleosts, crustaceans molluscs main prey. Percentage frequency occurrence (%FO) percentage by number (%N) computed to describe dietary compositions. Non-metric multidimensional scaling Morisita Index determined level overlap. was a generalist feeder having broadest diet, R. most selective feeder, preying predominantly on teleosts C. consumed greatest proportion that increased with size. pairwise ANOSIM tests showed significant difference compositions (P 0.1%, R 0.318) 0.589), which indicate potential resource partitioning. Further work should aim adequately characterise diets, improve prey identification investigate spatial temporal use patterns. Understanding processes informs ecosystem approaches fisheries management.