@article{butler_hanrahan_buckel_rudershausen_juanes_smith_2014, title={Size-Selective Feeding in Captive and Free-Ranging Atlantic Bluefin Tuna}, volume={6}, ISSN={["1942-5120"]}, DOI={10.1080/19425120.2014.886644}, abstractNote={AbstractWe examined size‐selective feeding in captive and free‐ranging Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Thunnus thynnus. For the captive study, Bluefin Tuna were maintained in a cylindrical net‐pen enclosure (30.5 m in diameter; 15.2 m deep) located 32.2 km offshore of Virginia. Tests of prey size selectivity by captive Bluefin Tuna were observed using underwater video. In free‐ranging Bluefin Tuna, size selection was examined by comparing the sizes of Atlantic Menhaden Brevoortia tyrannus found in stomach contents with the sizes of those collected during the fall purse‐seine fishery for Atlantic Menhaden off the North Carolina coast. Captive Bluefin Tuna selected larger prey when prey length : predator length ratios (PPRs) were less than 10%; however, size selectivity was not observed when the PPRs exceeded 10%. For free‐ranging Bluefin Tuna, PPRs were mostly greater than 10% (12.98 ± 0.06% [mean ± SE]), and there were no significant differences in length between Atlantic Menhaden from stomach contents and those from purse‐seine collections. The minimum and median sizes of Atlantic Menhaden prey increased with increasing predator size; however, the maximum size of Atlantic Menhaden prey did not change, indicating that the smallest Bluefin Tuna sampled could consume the largest Atlantic Menhaden. We conclude that the relatively small size of forage fishes commonly observed in Bluefin Tuna stomachs was likely due to the high abundance of these fishes in the environment rather than to active selection for small prey.Received August 29, 2013; accepted January 14, 2014}, number={1}, journal={MARINE AND COASTAL FISHERIES}, author={Butler, Christopher M. and Hanrahan, Brian and Buckel, Jeffrey A. and Rudershausen, Paul J. and Juanes, Francis and Smith, Joseph W.}, year={2014}, pages={81–88} }
 @article{rudershausen_buckel_edwards_gannon_butler_averett_2010, title={Feeding Ecology of Blue Marlins, Dolphinfish, Yellowfin Tuna, and Wahoos from the North Atlantic Ocean and Comparisons with Other Oceans}, volume={139}, ISSN={["1548-8659"]}, DOI={10.1577/t09-105.1}, abstractNote={AbstractWe examined diet, dietary niche width, diet overlap, and prey size–predator size relationships of blue marlins Makaira nigricans, dolphinfish Coryphaena hippurus, yellowfin tuna Thunnus albacares, and wahoos Acanthocybium solandri caught in the western North Atlantic Ocean during the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament (BRT) in 1998–2000 and 2003–2009 and dolphinfish captured outside the BRT from 2002 to 2004. Scombrids were important prey of blue marlins, yellowfin tuna, and wahoos; other frequently consumed prey included cephalopods (for yellowfin tuna and wahoos) and exocoetids (for yellowfin tuna). Dolphinfish diets included exocoetids, portunids, and conspecifics as important prey. Blue marlins and wahoos consumed relatively few prey species (i.e., low dietary niche width), while dolphinfish had the highest dietary niche width; yellowfin tuna had intermediate niche width values. Maximum prey size increased with dolphinfish size; however, the consumption of small prey associated with algae Sargassum spp. occurred across the full size range of dolphinfish examined. Most interspecific diet overlap values with dolphinfish were not significant; however, blue marlins, yellowfin tuna, and wahoos had significant diet overlap due to their reliance on scombrid prey. Prey types found in blue marlins, dolphinfish, and wahoos were more consistent among BRT years than prey found in yellowfin tuna. The prey of yellowfin tuna and wahoos collected during BRT years correlated with historic (early 1980s) diet data from North Carolina, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Bahamas. Based on principal components analysis, diets from several oceans clustered together for blue marlins, dolphinfish, yellowfin tuna, and wahoos. Although differences were found, the diets of each predator were largely consistent both temporally (e.g., over the past three decades in the Gulf Stream) and spatially (among oceans), despite potential effects of fishing or environmental changes.}, number={5}, journal={TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN FISHERIES SOCIETY}, author={Rudershausen, Paul J. and Buckel, Jeffrey A. and Edwards, Jason and Gannon, Damon P. and Butler, Christopher M. and Averett, Tyler W.}, year={2010}, month={Sep}, pages={1335–1359} }
 @article{butler_rudershausen_buckel_2010, title={Feeding ecology of Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) in North Carolina: Diet, daily ration, and consumption of Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus)}, volume={108}, number={1}, journal={Fishery Bulletin (Washington, D.C.)}, author={Butler, C. M. and Rudershausen, P. J. and Buckel, J. A.}, year={2010}, pages={56–69} }