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<p>Yellowtail (<i>Seriola quinqueradiata</i>) is an economically important top predator in Japan. The climate-driven northward expansion of yellowtail into the coastal waters of Hokkaido, Japan, could change the northern marine ecosystem of Japan. A comprehensive understanding of its feeding ecology and potential ecosystem impacts is emerging issues in the aspects of fisheries and bioconservation. To investigate the diet of this range-expanding species, we performed advanced stomach content analyses combined with high-resolution DNA metabarcoding on 109 individuals from the Sea of Japan, Tsugaru Strait, and Sea of Okhotsk. Our results revealed that yellowtail are primarily piscivorous, with their diet dominated by schooling planktivores, including Japanese anchovy (<i>Engraulis japonicus</i>), Japanese sardine (<i>Sardinops melanosticta</i>), and sand lances (<i>Ammodytes</i> sp.), with significant regional and seasonal variation. Crucially, we found the first robust evidence of benthic foraging in this species, supported by the molecular detection of benthic prey (<i>Ammodytes</i>, <i>Pandalus</i>, <i>Opisthocentrus</i>) and the presence of incidentally ingested stones. Furthermore, the amplicon sequence variant (ASV) analysis uncovered significant intraspecific genetic diversity within key prey species. This study provides critical new insights into the dietary plasticity enabling yellowtail to colonize northern ecosystems and highlights how advanced molecular techniques can reveal fine-scale predator–prey dynamics, with broad implications for monitoring ecosystem responses to climate change.</p>

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Benthic foraging and regional dietary variations of yellowtail (Seriola quinqueradiata) at their northern range limit revealed by integrated stomach content and DNA metabarcoding analyses

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年3月4日

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  • Ryo Tomiyama

摘要

Yellowtail (Seriola quinqueradiata) is an economically important top predator in Japan. The climate-driven northward expansion of yellowtail into the coastal waters of Hokkaido, Japan, could change the northern marine ecosystem of Japan. A comprehensive understanding of its feeding ecology and potential ecosystem impacts is emerging issues in the aspects of fisheries and bioconservation. To investigate the diet of this range-expanding species, we performed advanced stomach content analyses combined with high-resolution DNA metabarcoding on 109 individuals from the Sea of Japan, Tsugaru Strait, and Sea of Okhotsk. Our results revealed that yellowtail are primarily piscivorous, with their diet dominated by schooling planktivores, including Japanese anchovy (Engraulis japonicus), Japanese sardine (Sardinops melanosticta), and sand lances (Ammodytes sp.), with significant regional and seasonal variation. Crucially, we found the first robust evidence of benthic foraging in this species, supported by the molecular detection of benthic prey (Ammodytes, Pandalus, Opisthocentrus) and the presence of incidentally ingested stones. Furthermore, the amplicon sequence variant (ASV) analysis uncovered significant intraspecific genetic diversity within key prey species. This study provides critical new insights into the dietary plasticity enabling yellowtail to colonize northern ecosystems and highlights how advanced molecular techniques can reveal fine-scale predator–prey dynamics, with broad implications for monitoring ecosystem responses to climate change.