Feeding ecology of two demersal opportunistic predators coexisting in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea

9 pages, 4 figures, 4 tables, 1 appendix supplementary data https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2016.03.007.-- This study is a contribution to the project ECOTRANS (CTM2011-26333, Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competiveness, Spain) and to the Master's thesis of NLThe study of the feeding ecology of marine organisms is crucial to understanding their ecological roles and advancing our knowledge of marine ecosystem functioning. The aim of this study was to analyse the trophic ecology of two demersal predator species, black anglerfish (Lophius budegassa) and white anglerfish (L. piscatorius), in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea. Both species are important in the study area due to their high abundance and economic value, but information about their feeding behaviour is scarce. Here, we described the diet composition and ecological role of these two species, investigating whether trophic segregation exists between them and amongst fish of different sizes. In addition, by using experimental survey data we described the spatial distribution of both species to help us interpret trophic behaviour patterns. We gathered samples of two different sizes (small individuals of a total length