Editing Mackerel (section)

==Lifecycle and ecology (Scombroids)==
[[File:Scramble^^ A Gannet begins its take off run. - geograph.org.uk - 1368991.jpg|thumb|right|[[Gannet]]s and other seabirds fuel themselves with mackerel]]

Mackerel are prolific [[broadcast spawner]]s, and must breed near the surface of the water because the eggs of the females float. Individual females lay between 300,000 and 1,500,000 eggs.<ref name=FAOTuna /> Their [[Fish egg|eggs]] and [[Ichthyoplankton|larvae]] are [[pelagic]], that is, they float free in the open sea. The larvae and juvenile mackerel feed on [[zooplankton]]. As adults, they have sharp teeth, and hunt small crustaceans such as [[copepod]]s, [[forage fish]], [[shrimp]], and [[squid]]. In turn, they are hunted by larger pelagic animals such as tuna, [[billfish]], [[Sea lion|sea lions]], [[shark]]s, and [[pelican]]s.<ref name=FAOjaponicus /><ref name=FAOcavalla /><ref>{{cite web | title = Forage species | url = http://www.fao.org/fishery/topic/4290/en | publisher = [[FAO]] | access-date = 2019-05-06 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181221041523/http://www.fao.org/fishery/topic/4290/en | archive-date = 2018-12-21 | url-status = live }}</ref>

Off [[Madagascar]], [[Spinner shark|spinner sharks]] follow migrating schools of mackerel.<ref name="compagno">{{cite book |author=Compagno, L.J.V. |year=1984 |title=Sharks of the World: An Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of Shark Species Known to Date |place=Rome |publisher=Food and Agricultural Organization |isbn=978-92-5-101384-7 |pages=466–468}}</ref> [[Bryde's whale]]s feed on mackerel when they can find them. They use several feeding methods, including [[Ram feeding|skimming the surface]], [[Lunge feeding|lunging]], and [[bubble net]]s.<ref name=NOAA>{{cite web | title = Bryde's Whale ''(Balaenoptera edeni)'' | url = http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/cetaceans/brydeswhale.htm | publisher = Noaa Fisheries, Office of Protected Resources | access-date = 2009-12-31 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100619094748/http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/cetaceans/brydeswhale.htm | archive-date = 2010-06-19 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

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