Feeding habits of three seal species at the Danco Coast, Antarctica - a re-assessment

CASAUX R.; BERTOLIN M.; CARLINI A.

POLAR BIOLOGY

SPRINGER

Lugar: Berlin; Año: 2011 vol. 34 p. 1615 - 1620

0722-4060

Summary The analysis of prey overlap among Weddell, Antarctic fur and leopard seals was conducted from fecal samples collected in 1998 and 2000 at the Danco Coast, Antarctic Peninsula. The re-occurrence of prey was moderate in 1998 and low in 2000 and reflects resource partitioning among seals. The prey that most co-occurred in the diet of seals were the Antarctic krill Euphausia superba, bivalves, and the myctophids Gymnoscopelus nicholsi and Electrona antarctica. The dietary similarity index “S” of prey overlap widely fluctuated between seal pairs. The highest and lowest values of prey overlap were observed between Antarctic fur and leopard seals and between Weddell and leopard seals respectively. The prey overlap between Antarctic fur and Weddell seals presented intermediate values in both seasons.