Dietary composition of Sanderling in a coastal wetland at Patagonia Argentina

CASTILLO JOANNA MIRIAM; PÁEZ FRANCISCO EZEQUIEL

Conferencia; First International Shorebird Twitter Conference 2020; 2020

Brititsh Ornithologists Union

Sanderling (Calidris alba) breed in the high Artic and spend non-breeding periods in tropics and temperates zones. In South America, the Patagonian wetlands within the Atlantic coast offer an important feeding area to many migratory wader species. The diet composition of the Sanderling was evaluated through faecal analysis at different stopover dates in Caleta Malaspina, Patagonia Argentina. Prey occurrence frequency was calculated and compared among dates. The main prey consumed by the Sanderling were polychaetes (mostly Onuphidae, Orbiniidae and Nereididae families), crustaceans and clams. The composition was different among dates mainly due a consume peak of crustaceans in April 2019. This result is the first record of diet composition of Sanderling in the area and is coincident with registers of other sites at the Argentine coastline