CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

We studied the diet of the Black Skimmer Rynchops niger during the non-breeding season (austral summer-autumn 2000) by analyzing 1034 regurgitated pellets from Mar Chiquita, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Fish was the main prey, with five species identified: Odontesthes argentinensis, O. incisa, Anchoa marinii, Engraulis anchoita and Pomatomus saltatrix. O. incisa and O. argentinensis were present in all the sampled months, showing also larger values of occurrence, numerical abundance and importance by mass than other items. The average size of the fish was 73±17 mm in length and 2.2±1.7 g in mass. Significant differences were observed in the comparison of the occurrence, importance by number and by mass throughout the study period. The presence of fish in the diet of the Black Skimmer coincides with a study carried out on the North American subspecies. Our analysis of the diet suggests that skimmers use both estuarine and marine areas when foraging.Rynchops niger during the non-breeding season (austral summer-autumn 2000) by analyzing 1034 regurgitated pellets from Mar Chiquita, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Fish was the main prey, with five species identified: Odontesthes argentinensis, O. incisa, Anchoa marinii, Engraulis anchoita and Pomatomus saltatrix. O. incisa and O. argentinensis were present in all the sampled months, showing also larger values of occurrence, numerical abundance and importance by mass than other items. The average size of the fish was 73±17 mm in length and 2.2±1.7 g in mass. Significant differences were observed in the comparison of the occurrence, importance by number and by mass throughout the study period. The presence of fish in the diet of the Black Skimmer coincides with a study carried out on the North American subspecies. Our analysis of the diet suggests that skimmers use both estuarine and marine areas when foraging.

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