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The diet of black-browed albatrosses at the Diego Ramirez Islands, Chile

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Abstract

The diet of black-browed albatrosses was studied at Gonzalo Island, Diego Ramirez, Chile, during the early chick-rearing periods of 2000, 2001, and 2002. Diet composition was determined by sampling chick-stomach contents during January and February of each year. Reconstituted meal mass was similar throughout the study, with diet being dominated by fish in all 3 years. Overall, the main items taken were the fishes Macruronus magellanicus (66–89% by mass) and Micromesistius australis (2.6–3.7% by mass), which are both fisheries-related species, and the squid Martialia hyadesi (8–20% by mass). The distribution of the prey species indicates that black-browed albatrosses obtained the bulk of their food over the South American continental shelf, but also foraged at the Antarctic Polar Front. The prevalence in the diet of fish species discarded from fishing operations, and the presence of fish hooks and fish bait species, indicate a strong association with fisheries in southern Chile.

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Acknowledgements

Thanks are due to Graham Robertson for his contributions to paper corrections and discussion, I am also grateful to Carlos Moreno and José Valencia for their suggestions and support in the preliminary stages of the study. I also thank J. Valencia, A. Sepulveda, and M. Muñoz, for their assistance in the field, and to Vilma Ojeda (IFOP), for providing otolith samples from southern Chile and Carlos Jara, Layla Osman, Paul Rodhouse, and Dick Williams for their help in species identification. This research was made possible thanks to a collaboration program between the Instituto Antartico Chileno (INACH), the Universidad Austral de Chile (UACH), the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD), and the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). Further financial assistance for laboratory expenses was provided through a project of the Direccion de Investigacion y Desarrollo (DID), UACH. Financial support for my stay at Gonzalo Island was provided by a scholarship from the Comision Nacional de Investigacion Cientifica y Tecnologica (CONICYT), Chile.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Ecología y Evolución, Campus Isla Teja, Universidad Austral de Chile, Casilla 567, Valdivia, Chile

    Javier Arata

  2. British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 OET, UK

    José C. Xavier

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  1. Javier Arata
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  2. José C. Xavier
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Correspondence to Javier Arata.

Appendix 1

Appendix 1

Table 5 shows the mean mass of individual crustaceans used to reconstitute crustacean prey mass in the diet of black-browed albatrosses at Gonzalo Island, Diego Ramirez.

Table 5. Mean mass of individual crustaceans used to reconstitute crustacean prey mass in the diet of black-browed albatrosses at Gonzalo Island, Diego Ramirez
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Arata, J., Xavier, J.C. The diet of black-browed albatrosses at the Diego Ramirez Islands, Chile. Polar Biol 26, 638–647 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-003-0530-z

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