INVESTIGADORES
CASAUX Ricardo Jorge
artículos
Título:
The diet of the Weddell Seal Leptonychotes weddellii at the Danco Coast, Antarctic Peninsula
Autor/es:
CASAUX R., BARONI A. Y RAMÓN A.
Revista:
POLAR BIOLOGY
Editorial:
Springer-Verlag
Referencias:
Año: 2006 vol. 29 p. 257 - 262
ISSN:
0722-4060
Resumen:
Abstract
The
diet of the Weddell Seal Leptonychotes
weddellii at the Danco Coast, Antarctic Peninsula, was investigated by the
analysis of 105 and 39 faeces collected at beaches surrounding Cierva Point
during January-March 1998 and 2000 respectively. The diet was diverse and composed
of both pelagic and benthic-demersal organisms. Fish, followed by cephalopods,
constituted the bulk of the diet by number and mass. Among fish, Pleuragramma antarcticum, Chaenodraco wilsoni and Gobionotothen gibberifrons were the
dominant fish by mass in 1998, whereas Chionodraco
rastrospinosus, P. antarcticum
and C. wilsoni predominated by mass
in 2000. The contribution of channichthyid species to the diet of seals at the
Danco Coast was higher than previously reported. Besides those species, the myctophid
Electrona antarctica was also an important prey by number in the diet of
seals in both summer seasons. The results are compared with information from
other study areas and the possibility of using information on the diet of this
seal as a gross indicator of fish availability/distribution is considered.