David CostalagoUniversity of British Columbia | UBC · Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries
David Costalago
Doctor of Philosophy
About
29
Publications
9,168
Reads
How we measure 'reads'
A 'read' is counted each time someone views a publication summary (such as the title, abstract, and list of authors), clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the full-text. Learn more
661
Citations
Introduction
Willing to delve more into the links between aquatic ecosystems and coastal livelihoods from my current ecological research career, and to channel my skills and knowledge on fish ecology and pelagic food webs towards the conservation and management of marine resources.
Additional affiliations
April 2013 - November 2015
March 2012 - January 2013
March 2007 - March 2012
Publications
Publications (29)
Anchovy and sardine in the Mediterranean are known to share the same habitat and, consequently, to interact with one another. These two sympatric pelagic species are planktivorous and consume a wide range of planktonic prey items during all their developmental stages, potentially overlapping their ecological niches, although the feeding interaction...
We assessed the relative importance of different prey types of the European pilchard (European sardine) from the late larval to the adult stage. Two different methodologies for analysing stomach contents were used to describe the trophic dynamics of sardine and the relationship of sardine feeding behaviour with the ontogenetic development of body s...
We investigated ontogenetic and seasonal changes in the feeding ecology of 2 small pelagic fish species, the European anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus and the European pilchard Sardina pilchardus in the Gulf of Lions (NW Mediterranean). By analysing the stable isotopes δ13C and δ15N, we determined the seasonal variation in the food sources and in the...
Information on dietary habits of mesograzers in Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows is scarce and restricted to a few species. Here we provide data on the most likely food sources for eight gastropod species inferred from stable isotope data. We observed very similar isotopic signals for all species regardless of trophic guild category, indicating...
Global climate change is projected to raise global temperatures by 3.3–5.7 ◦C by 2100, resulting in changes in species composition, abundance, and nutritional quality of organisms at the base of the marine food web. Predicted increases in prey availability and reductions in prey nutritional quality under climate warming in certain marine systems ar...
Requirements for a fishery to achieve Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification include demonstrating that targeted populations (‘MSC stocks’) are fished at sustainable levels. The credibility of this claim can be evaluated by comparing estimated abundance of MSC stocks to benchmarks based on sustainability criteria. Additionally, to evaluate...
The global temperature increase due to global change is predicted to be between 3.3 – 5.7°C by 2100 leading to changes at the base of the marine food web in species composition, abundance, and quality at the base of the marine food web leading to flow-on effects of higher trophic levels such as fish and humans. Changes in marine prey availability a...
The alternation of the classic and microbial food-webs in spring and winter, respectively, and the trespass towards higher trophic levels represented by fish early stages, are not well understood in Patagonia. These trophic routes were investigated in the inner Sea of Chiloe, an estuary of high ecological relevance in northern Patagonia. The isotop...
Cape anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus is an ecologically and economically important pelagic fish species occurring along the coast of South Africa. A recent eastward shift in Cape anchovy distribution indicates that environmental conditions are becoming more favorable for the species on the east coast. This shift is particularly important in the shel...
Fish growth and survival are largely determined by the nutritional quality of their food, and the fish that grow quickly during early life stages are more likely to reproduce. To adequately estimate the quality of the prey for fish, it is necessary to understand the trophic links at the base of the food-web. Trophic biomarkers (e.g., stable isotope...
Seal populations are recovering in many regions around the world and, consequently, they are increasingly interacting with fisheries. We used an Ecopath with Ecosim model for the offshore Central Baltic Sea to investigate the interactions between the changes in fish stocks and grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) population under different fishing and en...
We investigated the environmental drivers of larval abundance of anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus and sardine Sardinops sagax in Algoa Bay, Eastern Cape (South Africa). This study comprised a pre-drought post-drought time period, comparing the responses of the fish larvae to different factors before and after the drought. The current study presents,...
South African estuarine systems are becoming increasingly altered by anthropogenic and environmental factors, but the consequences of such changes for these systems are still not fully understood. The most common approach for evaluating the ecological status of aquatic systems is studying their associated foodwebs. Due to their high abundance and i...
Since 2008, a severe decrease in size and body condition together with a demographic truncation has been observed in sardine (secondarily in anchovy) population of the Gulf of Lions (NW Mediterranean Sea). In parallel, sprat biomass, which was negligible before, has increased tenfold. All these changes have strongly affected the regional fisheries....
Estuarine systems play a critical role as nursery areas for some fish species. Nursery function, nevertheless, is likely to vary among estuaries, mostly due to differences in habitat quality. High quality nursery habitats are those in which growth and survival of early stages of fish are enhanced. The nutritional condition of larval fishes has vita...
In the Atlantic Ocean, small pelagic fish occasionally execute long distance migrations before they become adults. However, in the Mediterranean Sea, the populations of the most common small pelagic fish, anchovy and sardine, seem to be generally more confined to relatively small areas. Particularly in the NW Mediterranean, local environmental cond...
In this study, the feeding apparatus (gill rakers, GR) and the diet composition of European sardine Sardina pilchardus populations living in two contrasting environments were compared: the upwelling area off western Iberia and the comparatively less productive region of the north-western Mediterranean Sea. The importance of local adaptations in the...
Because of its abundance and its essential role as a mid-trophic level species in estuaries, the estuarine round-herring, Gilchristella aestuaria, is an excellent candidate to assess the ecological status of estuaries. One of the most widely used approaches to quantitatively evaluate how fish are influenced by their environment is the assessment of...
Estuaries are exposed to a number of threats and many South African estuarine systems are functionally and structurally altered. The extent to which fish are affected by these alterations is not fully understood. The estuarine round herring Gilchristella aestuaria is an appropriate species to use when examining such effects. The most widely used ap...
Elucidating the impact of climatic changes on fish populations can be complicated due to the important number of associated factors that affect the environment and the biology of the species.
Also other anthropogenic alterations in the ecosystem, such as overfishing or eutrophication, often entail alterations in the trophic structure of the communi...
Las poblaciones de peces pelágicos como las de anchoa y sardina son las más
explotadas en el Mediterráneo. Además, al ser especies de vida corta, especialmente
afectadas por las fluctuaciones ambientales, es imprescindible profundizar en los aspectos
de su biología para establecer una gestión adecuada del recurso. Este trabajo se encuadra
en un pro...
This work was carried out in the framework of SARDONE project to assess and compare the ecology of juveniles of Engraulis encrasicolus (L.) in two important fishing areas of the Mediterranean Sea. Although in the Adriatic Sea the mean zooplankton biomass was much higher than in the Gulf of Lions during autumn 2007, the diet of the anchovy juveniles...
Uno de los recursos pesqueros más explotados en el mar Mediterráneo es la anchoa europea, Engraulis encrasicolus Linnaeus 1875, que se distribuye por todo el litoral mediterráneo, hasta el mar Negro, y por la costa atlántica, desde Sudáfrica hasta el mar del Norte.
Durante miles de años ha sido una de las especies más apreciadas por todos los pobla...
Questions
Question (1)
To estimate the nutritional condition of fish and invertebrate larvae, biochemical methods are widely used. One of the most important is the RNA/DNA ratio. Since the quantity of DNA remains constant in the cells regardless the condition of the individual, but RNA levels are associated to metabolic activity, this ratio provides an accurate indication of the nutritional status of the individual.
Samples collected for this purpose are generally frozen or kept in RNAlater, which avoids any RNAse activity. However, often samples are collected with other purposes and kept, for example, in ethanol. Would it be feasible to use these samples for this type of analysis?
