Ecology of Dipturus laevis
 
Main Ref. McEachran, J.D. and K.A. Dunn, 1998
Remarks Occurs from water's edge to 430 m depth; absent from shoal waters in south during warm months. Lives on all kinds of bottom (Ref. 27314). It tolerates a wide temperature range (1.2-20°C). Voracious predator(Ref. 5951); feeds on bivalve mollusks, squids, rock crabs, lobsters, shrimps, worms and fishes (Ref. 27314). Food also includes fishes like spiny dogfish, alewife, Atlantic herring, butterfish, sand lance, cunner, hakes and flatfishes. Parasites of the species include 1 turbellarian, 3 trematodes, 4 cestodes, 2 nematodes and 4 copepods, found on gills, skin and digestive tract; infestation is relatively severe (Ref. 5951).

Aquatic zones / Water bodies

Marine - Neritic Marine - Oceanic Brackishwater Freshwater
Marine zones / Brackish and freshwater bodies
  • supra-littoral zone
  • littoral zone
  • sublittoral zone
  • epipelagic
  • mesopelagic
  • epipelagic
  • abyssopelagic
  • hadopelagic
  • estuaries/lagoons/brackish seas
  • mangroves
  • marshes/swamps
  • rivers/streams
  • lakes/ponds
  • caves
  • exclusively in caves
Highighted items on the list are where Dipturus laevis may be found.

Habitat

Substrate Soft Bottom Hard Bottom;
Substrate Ref.
Special habitats
Special habitats Ref.

Associations

Ref.
Associations
Associated with
Association remarks
Parasitism

Feeding

Feeding type mainly animals (troph. 2.8 and up)
Feeding type Ref. McEachran, J.D. and K.A. Dunn, 1998
Feeding habit hunting macrofauna (predator)
Feeding habit Ref. McEachran, J.D. and K.A. Dunn, 1998
Trophic Level(s)
Estimation method Original sample Unfished population Remark
Troph s.e. Troph s.e.
From diet composition 3.50 3.44 0.49 Troph of adults from 1 study.
From individual food items 4.09 0.71 Trophic level estimated from a number of food items using a randomized resampling routine.
Ref. Bowman, R.E., C.E. Stillwell, W.L. Michaels and M.D. Grosslein, 2000
(e.g. 346)
(e.g. cnidaria)
Comments & Corrections
 
 
Back to Search
cfm script by eagbayani,  ,  php script by rolavides, 2/5/2008 ,  last modified by mbactong, 10/24/19