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Stomach contents of long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas) from southern Chile

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Abstract

The widely distributed long-finned pilot whale (Globicephala melas) has been reported off the Chilean coast, from Iquique (20°12′S) south to Navarino Island (55°15′S; 67°30′W), but little is known about its biology or ecology in the region. Here, we report on the prey of this species, identified by stomach content analyses from animals stranded on Holget Islets, Beagle Channel, southern Chile in August 2006. The stomachs of seven individuals (six females and one male) contained cephalopod remains. The prey composition found in these southern Chilean pilot whales was similar to that described in other parts of the world and the Southern Ocean. This is the first report on the feeding habits of this species from Chile.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Anelio Aguayo (INACH) and Jorge Acevedo (Fundación CEQUA) for organizing and coordinating logistic support from the III Naval Zone of the Chilean Navy. Thanks to Admiral Edmundo González, Captain Bernard Johnson and Commandant Pablo Lubesecher for enabling CO to attend the stranding to collect biological data. Thanks to LSG-1603 Alacalufe Captain Lieutenant Ignacio Rojas and his crew for transport to the area of the stranding. We thank Miguel Iñiguez for his hard work performing necropsies under cold conditions and collecting the stomach contents. We thank Elsa Cabrera and Barbara Galetti (CCC) for help during field-work, as well as Marcela Miranda and Javier González-Higueras. We thank Emma Newcombe for reviewing early versions of this manuscript, and R. Natalie P. Goodall and an anonymous reviewer for their critical review. This research was funded by Fundación CEQUA and had the support of the Chilean Navy.

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Author notes

  1. Carlos Olavarría

    Present address: , 39 Moncrieff Avenue, Britannia Heights, Nelson, 7010, New Zealand

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programa de Magíster en Estadística, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile

    Lorena Mansilla

  2. Fundación Centro de Estudios del Cuaternario Fuego-Patagonia y Antártica (CEQUA), Punta Arenas, Chile

    Carlos Olavarría

  3. Departamento Ciencias Básicas, Universidad Santo Tomás, Iquique, Chile

    Marco A. Vega

Authors
  1. Lorena Mansilla
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  2. Carlos Olavarría
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  3. Marco A. Vega
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Correspondence to Carlos Olavarría.

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Mansilla, L., Olavarría, C. & Vega, M.A. Stomach contents of long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas) from southern Chile. Polar Biol 35, 1929–1933 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-012-1222-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-012-1222-3

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