Abstract
The diet of non-breeding male Antarctic fur seals Arctocephalus gazella was investigated at different localities of the Antarctic Peninsula (Cierva Point and Hope Bay), South Shetland Islands (Deception Island and Potter Peninsula) and the South Orkney Islands (Laurie Island), by the analysis of 438 scats collected from January to March 2000. The composition of the diet was diverse, with both pelagic and benthic-demersal prey represented in the samples. Antarctic krill Euphausia superba was the most frequent and numerous prey at all the study sites except at Cierva Point, followed by fish, penguins and cephalopods. Antarctic krill also predominated by mass, followed by either fish or penguins. Fish were the second most important prey by mass at the Antarctic Peninsula whereas penguins were the second most important prey by mass at the South Shetland and South Orkney Islands. Among fish, Pleuragramma antarcticum was the most important species in the diet of the Antarctic fur seals at the Antarctic Peninsula whereas Gymnoscopelus nicholsi predominated at the South Shetland and South Orkney Islands. The results are compared with previous studies, and the possibility of implementing monitoring studies on the distribution/abundance of myctophids and P. antarcticum based on the analysis of the diet of the Antarctic fur seal is considered.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Casaux R, Baroni A, Carlini A (1997) The diet of the Weddell Seal Leptonychotes weddelli at Harmony Point, South Shetland Islands. Polar Biol 18:371–375
Casaux R, Baroni A, Carlini A (1998a) The diet of the Antarctic fur seal Arctocephalus gazella at Harmony Point, Nelson Island, South Shetland Islands. Polar Biol 20:424–428
Casaux R, Soave G, Coria N (1998b) Lanternfish (Myctophidae) in the diet of the Cape petrel Daption capense at the South Shetland and South Orkney Islands, Antarctica. Polar Biol 20:364–366
Casaux R, Bellizia L, Baroni A (2002) The diet of the Antarctic fur seal Arctocephalus gazella at Harmony Point, South Shetland Islands: evidence of opportunistic foraging on penguins? Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, Ecosystem Monitoring and Management Working Group, document 02/11
Casaux R, Baroni A, Ramón A (2003) The diet of the Antarctic fur seal Arctocephalus gazella at the Danco Coast, Antarctic Peninsula. Polar Biol 26:49–54
Cherel Y, Guinet C, Tremblay Y (1997) Fish prey of Antarctic fur seals Arctocephalus gazella at Ile de Croy, Kerguelen. Polar Biol 17:87–90
Clarke M, MacLeod N (1982) Cephalopod remains in the stomachs of eight Weddell seals. Br Antarct Surv Bull 57:33–40
Daneri G (1996) Fish diet of the Antarctic fur seal Arctocephalus gazella, in summer, at Stranger Point, King George Island, South Shetland Islands. Polar Biol 14:353–355
Daneri G, Carlini A (1999) Spring and summer predation on fish by the Antarctic fur seal Arctocephalus gazella at King George Island, South Shetland Islands. Can J Zool 77:1157–1160
Daneri G, Coria N (1992) The diet of Antarctic fur seals, Arctocephalus gazella, during summer-autumn period at Mossman Peninsula, Laurie Island (South Orkneys). Polar Biol 11:565–566
Daneri G, Coria N (1993) Fish prey of Antarctic fur seals, Arctocephalus gazella, during the summer-autumn period at Laurie Island, South Orkney Islands. Polar Biol 13:287–289
Fischer W, Hureau J (1988) Fichas FAO de identificación de especies para los fines de pesca. Océano Austral (áreas de pesca 48, 58 y 88, área de la Convención CCAMLR). FAO, Rome
Furness R, Greenwood J (1993) Birds as monitors of environmental change. Chapman & Hall, London
Green K, Burton H (1987) Seasonal and geographical variation in the food of Weddell Seals Leptonychotes weddelli in Antarctica. Aust Wildl Res 14:475–489
Green K, Williams R, Handasyde K, Burton H, Shaughnessy P (1990) Interspecific and intra-specific differences in the diets of fur seals, Arctocephalus sp. (Pinnipedia: Otaridae), at Macquarie Island. Aust Mammal 13:193–200
Green K, Williams R, Burton H (1991) The diet of the Antarctic fur seals during the late autumn and early winter around Heard Island. Antarct Sci 3:359–361
Kirkman S, Wilson W, Klages N, Bester M, Isaksen K (2000) Diet and estimated food consumption of Antarctic fur seals at Bouvetøya during summer. Polar Biol 23:745–752
Klages N, Bester M (1998) Fish prey of fur seal Arctocephalus spp. at subantarctic Marion Island. Mar Biol 131:559–566
Kock K (1992) Antarctic fish and fisheries. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Montevecchi W (1993) Birds as indicators of change in marine prey stocks. In: Furness R, Greenwood J (eds) Birds as monitors of environmental change. Chapman & Hall, London, pp 217–266
Murie D (1987) Experimental approaches to stomach content analyses of piscivorous marine mammals. In: Huntley A, Costa D, Worthy G, Castellini M (eds) Marine mammal energetics. Society for Marine Mammology, Lawrence, Kan, pp 147–163
Nast F, Kock K, Sahrhage D, Stein M, Tiedtke J (1988) Hydrography, krill and fish and their possible relationships around Elephant Island. In: Sahrhage D (ed) Antarctic Ocean and resource variability. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 183–198
North A (1996) Fish in the diet of Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella) at South Georgia during winter and spring. Antarct Sci 8:155–160
North A, Croxall J, Doidge D (1983) Fish prey of the Antarctic fur seal Arctocephalus gazella at South Georgia. Br Antarct Surv Bull 61:27–37
Reid K (1995) The diet of Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella Peters 1875) during winter at South Georgia. Antarct Sci 7:241–249
Reid K, Arnould J (1996) The diet of Antarctic fur seals Arctocephalus gazella during the breeding season at South Georgia. Polar Biol 16:104–114
Silva J da, Neilson J (1985) Limitations of using otoliths recovered in scats to estimate prey consumption in seals. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 42:1439–1442
Whitehouse M, Veit R (1994) Distribution and abundance of seabirds and fur seals near the Antarctic Peninsula during the austral winter, 1986. Polar Biol 14:325–330
Acknowledgements
We thank N. Coria, M. Favero, G. Shandikov, P. Silva, S. Bo, S. Copello, S. Poljak, R. Montiel, M. Gasco, G. Daneri, R. Cerdá, M. Gray, M. Perez-Cometo and D. Gaona for assistance in field activities.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Casaux, R., Baroni, A., Arrighetti, F. et al. Geographical variation in the diet of the Antarctic fur seal Arctocephalus gazella . Polar Biol 26, 753–758 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-003-0554-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-003-0554-4