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Manta birostris, predator of the deep? Insight into the diet of the giant manta ray through stable isotope analysis

Overview of attention for article published in Royal Society Open Science, November 2016
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About this Attention Score

  • In the top 5% of all research outputs scored by Altmetric
  • High Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age (98th percentile)
  • High Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age and source (91st percentile)

Mentioned by

news
11 news outlets
blogs
1 blog
twitter
65 X users
facebook
11 Facebook pages
wikipedia
2 Wikipedia pages
reddit
2 Redditors
video
1 YouTube creator

Citations

dimensions_citation
40 Dimensions

Readers on

mendeley
142 Mendeley
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Title
Manta birostris, predator of the deep? Insight into the diet of the giant manta ray through stable isotope analysis
Published in
Royal Society Open Science, November 2016
DOI 10.1098/rsos.160717
Pubmed ID
Authors

Katherine B. Burgess, Lydie I. E. Couturier, Andrea D. Marshall, Anthony J. Richardson, Scarla J. Weeks, Michael B. Bennett

Abstract

The characterization of diet for the giant manta ray Manta birostris has been problematic given their large-scale movement patterns and the difficulty in obtaining stomach contents from this species. The large majority of existing information is based on observational data limited to feeding events at the sea surface during daylight. Recently discovered aggregation sites for the giant manta ray off mainland Ecuador are some of the most accessible to date and provide a unique opportunity for researchers to gather much needed information on this elusive species. To assess how important surface zooplankton is to giant manta ray diet, we conducted stable isotope analysis ((15)N and (13)C) on M. birostris muscle and surface zooplankton. Trophic position estimates placed M. birostris overall at a secondary consumer level of approximately 3.4 but there was large variation in δ(15)N and δ(13)C values among individuals. Manta birostris muscle tissue δ(13)C values were also not consistent with this species feeding predominantly on surface zooplankton and suggest that the majority of dietary intake is of mesopelagic origin. Given the conservative life history and fisheries pressure on large planktivores, knowledge of their trophic role and foraging strategies is essential to better understand their ecology and develop effective conservation measures.

X Demographics

X Demographics

The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 65 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 142 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Unknown 142 100%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Ph. D. Student 22 15%
Student > Bachelor 21 15%
Student > Master 20 14%
Researcher 20 14%
Student > Doctoral Student 7 5%
Other 11 8%
Unknown 41 29%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 50 35%
Environmental Science 25 18%
Earth and Planetary Sciences 7 5%
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology 6 4%
Medicine and Dentistry 3 2%
Other 4 3%
Unknown 47 33%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 136. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 09 December 2023.
All research outputs
#304,797
of 25,457,297 outputs
Outputs from Royal Society Open Science
#397
of 4,785 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#5,903
of 318,028 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Royal Society Open Science
#12
of 123 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,457,297 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 98th percentile: it's in the top 5% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 4,785 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 51.4. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 91% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 318,028 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 98% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 123 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 91% of its contemporaries.