DOI: 10.5061/dryad.18931zd6r
title: Data from: Spatiotemporal patterns of trophic niche variation within and among species of tropical coastal fishes

description: Intraspecific niche variation shapes the structure and function of food
 webs, but we still know little about the magnitude and drivers of trophic
 variation within species in species-rich communities. Here, we examined
 how intrinsic (sex and life stage) and extrinsic (locality and season)
 factors affect the diet composition and trophic niche width of tropical
 fish species. Specifically, we studied co-occurring species with
 benthopelagic (Stellifer ericymba, S. melanocheir, S. zestocarus, and
 Larimus argenteus) and benthic feeding habits (S. strabo, Cathorops
 manglarensis, Notarius troschelii, and Urotrygon rogersi) on the central
 Pacific coast of Colombia. Overall, we observed strong spatial and
 seasonal effects driving variation in the consumption of (i) amphipods,
 copepods, and decapods for benthopelagic species and (ii) molluscs and
 polychaetes for benthic species. As expected, we observed little sexual
 diet variation; however, surprisingly, most species showed little
 ontogenetic diet variation. Seasonality strongly shaped the trophic niche
 width for most species, but effects were species-specific, suggesting no
 general pattern of seasonal niche expansion across species. In turn,
 spatial effects on the trophic niche width were congruent across species,
 which might be related to differences in the diversity of available
 resources between bays. Our results reveal the complex interplay between
 intrinsic and extrinsic factors in shaping resource exploitation by
 coastal fish. This high level of trophic plasticity may be a critical
 component for both the persistence of marine populations and the stability
 of local food webs.
description: This data set corresponds to the prey items found in the stomach
 contents of the fish species analyzed. Each data base contains the
 locality, season, sex (female, male, indeterminate), size (total length,
 standard length), and life stage (Adult, Juvenile, indeterminate) of each
 individual. For each prey item, we provide the specific abundance and
 weight (to the nearest milligram). 
description: # Spatiotemporal patterns of trophic niche variation within and among
 species of tropical coastal fishes
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.18931zd6r](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.18931zd6r) ## Description of the data and file structure This data set consists of a Stomach_contents_DB.csv file that corresponds to the prey items found in the stomach contents of the several fish species that were obtained from artisanal shrimp-trawl fishery operations in both bays between July 2014 and October 2015 in the outer zones of Buenaventura Bay (BB) and Málaga Bay (MB) on the central Pacific coast of Colombia. We adopted a two-day sampling design to cover two sites in the outer zone of each bay. Sampling was conducted simultaneously (0900-1200 hr) by two groups of researchers. The data file "Stomach_contents_DB" contains the data information of seven tropical fish species (i.e., *Stellifer melanocheir, S. zestocarus, S. ericymba*, *S. strabo, Larimus argenteus, C. manglarensis* and *Notarius troschelii*).  For each individual in the database, we provide the species name and their respective id, so if one individual (e.g., *L_argenteus*; 176) consumed two prey items, the id of that specific individual will appear twice (176,176). Also, for each individual we provide the bay name (BB and MB), season (rainy and dry), sex (female, male, indeterminate), life stage (Adult, Juvenile, Indeterminate) and size (total length in cm). When total length could not be measured because the caudal fin was damaged (appears as "null"), we provide standard length in case users want to estimate total length using regression analysis. For each prey item, we provide the specific abundance and weight (in grams). Finally, prey were divided in 3 categories. For instance, if individual consumed a penaied shrimp (column prey_items), we provide two higher taxonomic categories: Dendrobrachiata (Prey_category_2) and Decapoda (Prey_category_1). Data from *Urotrygon rogersi* came from Navia et al., (2011); thus, stomach content data should be requested to those specific authors. Navia, A. F., Torres, A., Mejía-Falla, P. A., & Giraldo, A. (2011). Sexual, ontogenetic, temporal and spatial effects on the diet of *Urotrygon rogersi* (Elasmobranchii:Myliobatiformes). *Journal of Fish Biology*, *78*(4), 1213–1224. [https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8649.2011.02931.x](https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8649.2011.02931.x)"