Ecology Summary - Thunnus maccoyii

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Main Ref.	Collette, B.B. and C.E. Nauen, 1983
Remarks	In adults, seasonal migrations are observed between the warm water western and northwestern Australian spawning grounds and cold water feeding grounds off Tasmania and New Zealand (at temperatures of 13° to 15°C). The migration pattern of these tuna is revealed by the capture of progressively larger fish along the migration route (Ref. 6390). Juveniles 6-8 cm long have been collected on the North West Shelf of Austrlia and larger juveniles (20-60 cm FL) have been caught on the continental shelf further south (22-34°S) (Ref. 30319). Young fish are generally closely associated with coastal and continental shelf waters, although some immature fish, from 3 years of age, move away from the shelf to feed in the waters of the West Wind Drift (40-45°S) of the Southern Ocean (Ref. 30318). They are caught by longline as far away as South Africa (Ref. 6390). By maturity, most southern bluefin tuna lead an oceanic, pelagic existence (Ref. 6390). Feed on fish and benthic invertebrates (Ref. 168). Opportunistic feeders. Juveniles feed mainly on crustacea, while adults prefer fish (Ref. 30319).

Main Ref.

Collette, B.B. and C.E. Nauen, 1983

Remarks

In adults, seasonal migrations are observed between the warm water western and northwestern Australian spawning grounds and cold water feeding grounds off Tasmania and New Zealand (at temperatures of 13° to 15°C). The migration pattern of these tuna is revealed by the capture of progressively larger fish along the migration route (Ref. 6390). Juveniles 6-8 cm long have been collected on the North West Shelf of Austrlia and larger juveniles (20-60 cm FL) have been caught on the continental shelf further south (22-34°S) (Ref. 30319). Young fish are generally closely associated with coastal and continental shelf waters, although some immature fish, from 3 years of age, move away from the shelf to feed in the waters of the West Wind Drift (40-45°S) of the Southern Ocean (Ref. 30318). They are caught by longline as far away as South Africa (Ref. 6390). By maturity, most southern bluefin tuna lead an oceanic, pelagic existence (Ref. 6390). Feed on fish and benthic invertebrates (Ref. 168). Opportunistic feeders. Juveniles feed mainly on crustacea, while adults prefer fish (Ref. 30319).

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 Thunnus maccoyii may be found.

Habitat

Substrate
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.	Collette, B.B. and C.E. Nauen, 1983
Feeding habit	hunting macrofauna (predator)
Feeding habit Ref.	Collette, B.B. and C.E. Nauen, 1983

Trophic Level(s)

Estimation method	Original sample		Unfished population		Remark
Estimation method	Troph	s.e.	Troph	s.e.	Remark
From diet composition
From individual food items	3.93	0.53			Trophic level estimated from a number of food items using a randomized resampling routine.
Ref.

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Aquatic zones / Water bodies

Habitat

Associations

Feeding