Abstract
The fish component in the diet of Antarctic fur seals, Arctocephalus gazella, was investigated at Laurie Island, South Orkney Islands from mid January to April 1988. Fish otoliths occurred in 78.8% of faecal droppings. Most of the otoliths extracted from scats belonged to Myctophid fish (93.4%), mainly Electrona antarctica and Gymnoscopelus nicholsi. These two fish species thus constituted the bulk of the diet. A greater percentage of the otoliths from G. nicholsi (31.1%) in this study were considered suitable for measurement in comparison with 10.3% from scats at Heard Island in 1990 and 11.4% at Macquarie Island in 1988/89. This lesser degree of erosion would suggest that foraging areas of fur seals during this study were closer to land than during previous studies. During the period studied, the commercial fishery around the South Orkneys was not based on Myctophid fish so there was no direct competition for fish between the fur seals and fisheries.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bonner WN (1968) The fur seal of South Georgia. Sci Rep Br Antarctic Surv 56
Daneri GA, Coria NR (1992) The diet of Antarctic fur seals, Arctocephalus gazella, during the summer-autumn period at Mossman Peninsula, Laurie Island (South Orkneys). Polar Biol 11:565–566
Dellinger T, Trillmich F (1988) Estimating diet composition from scat analysis in otariid seals (Otariidae): is it reliable? Can J Zool 66:1865–1870
Doidge DW, Croxall JP (1985) Diet and energy budget of the Antarctic fur seal, Arctocephalus gazella, at South Georgia. In: Siegfried WR, Condy PR, Laws RM (eds) Antarctic nutrient cycles and food webs. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 543–550
Green K, Burton HR, Williams R (1989) The diet of Antarctic fur seals Arctocephalus gazella during the breeding season at Heard Island. Antarctic Sci 1:317–324
Green K, Williams R, Handasyde K, Burton HR, Shaughnessy PD (1990) Interspecific and intraspecific differences in the diets of three species of Arctocephalus (Pinnipedia:Otariidae) at Macquarie Island. Australian Mammal 13:193–200
Green K, Williams R, Burton HR (1991) The diet of Antarctic fur seals Arctocephalus gazella (Peters) during the late autumn and early winter around Heard Island. Antarctic Sci 3 (4):359–361
Hecht T (1987) A guide to the otoliths of Southern Ocean fishes. S Afr J Antarctic Res V 17 (1):1–87
Jobling M, Breiby A (1986) The use and abuse of fish otoliths in studies of feeding habits of marine piscivores. Sarsia 71:265–274
North AW, Croxall JP, Doidge DW (1983) Fish prey of the Antarctic fur seal Arctocephalus gazella at South Georgia. Br Antarctic Surv Bull 61:27–37
North AW, Burchett MS, Gilbert CJ, White MG (1984) Identification of fish from the Southern Ocean by means of otoliths. Br Antarctic Surv Bull 62:83–94
SC-CAMLR IX (1990) Report of the Ninth Meeting of the Scientific Committee, Hobart, Australia
Stanganelli ZB, Vergani DF, Aguirre CA, Coria NR (1989) Activities of Argentina into the Ecosystem Monitoring Program. CEMP. WG-CEMP-89/15
Vergani DF, Coria NR (1989) Increase in numbers of male fur seals Anctocephalus gazella during the summer-autumn period at Mossman Peninsula (Laurie Island). Polar Biol 9:487–488
Willams R, McEldowney A (1990) A guide to the fish otoliths from waters off the Australian Antarctic Territory, Heard and Macquarie Islands. ANARE Res Notes 75
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Daneri, G.A., Coria, N.R. Fish prey of Antarctic fur seals, Arctocephalus gazella, during the summer-autumn period at Laurie Island, South Orkney Islands. Polar Biol 13, 287–289 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00238354
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00238354