(Table 1) Prey species identified from the scats of Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella) on Bouvet Island

DOI

Intraspecific differences in the diets of many species of pinnipeds are to be expected in view of the great differences in morphology, life history and foraging behaviour between the sexes of many species. We examined the diet of the Antarctic fur seal population at Bouvetøya, Southern Ocean, to assess intersexual differences. This was made possible by the analysis of prey remains extracted from scats and regurgitations collected in areas used primarily by one or the other sex. The results indicate that both males and females feed primarily on Antarctic krill Euphausia superba with several species of fish and squid being taken, likely opportunistically given their prevalence. Significant differences were identified in the frequency of occurrence of otoliths in scats and the percentage numerical abundance of the major fish prey species in the diet. Adult males ate a smaller quantity of fish overall, but ate significantly more of the larger fish species. The greater diving capabilities of males and the fact that they are not limited in the extent of their foraging area by having to return regularly to feed dependant offspring may play a role in the differences found between the diets of males and females. Additionally, females might be more selective, favouring myctophids because they are richer in energy than krill. The absence of major differences in the diet between the sexes at this location is likely due to the high overall abundance of prey at Bouvetøya.

Data extracted in the frame of a joint ICSTI/PANGAEA IPY effort, see http://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.150150

Supplement to: Hofmeyr, G J Greg; Bester, Marthán Nieuwoudt; Kirkman, Steve P; Lydersen, Christian; Kovacs, Kit Maureen (2010): Intraspecific differences in the diet of Antarctic fur seals at Nyrøysa, Bouvetøya. Polar Biology, 33(9), 1171-1178

Identifier
DOI https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.811221
Related Identifier https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-010-0805-0
Metadata Access https://ws.pangaea.de/oai/provider?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=datacite4&identifier=oai:pangaea.de:doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.811221
Provenance
Creator Hofmeyr, G J Greg ORCID logo; Bester, Marthán Nieuwoudt; Kirkman, Steve P; Lydersen, Christian; Kovacs, Kit Maureen
Publisher PANGAEA
Publication Year 2010
Rights Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
OpenAccess true
Representation
Resource Type Supplementary Dataset; Dataset
Format text/tab-separated-values
Size 279 data points
Discipline Earth System Research
Spatial Coverage (3.318 LON, -54.415 LAT); Bouvet Island, Southern Ocean (Atlantic sector)
Temporal Coverage Begin 2001-12-20T00:00:00Z
Temporal Coverage End 2002-02-07T00:00:00Z