A Contribution on the Diet of the Warty Crab, Eriphia verrucosa (Forskål, 1775) by Informative Bayesian Stable Isotope Mixing Models

The present study aims to determine the diet composition of Eriphia verrucosa using an informative and uninformative approach in which the stomach content results were assigned as prior based on this model. A stable isotope mixing model and stomach content analysis were used together to determine the diet and prey-predator relationships of E. verrucosa . A total of 24 crabs and benthic material were collected from depths between 1.5 and 2 m in the Strait of Çanakkale in July, 2020. The contribution of two different diets was assessed both by prior assignment (informative) and uninformative. According to the stomach content analyses, among the prey, Echinodermata contributed 37% to the diet, followed by Mollusca, especially Gastropoda (18%). In the uninformative model without prior assignment and in the informative model (prior assignment), Gastropoda contributed the most to the diet (57, 66%, respectively).