Diet of the Heard Island cormorant Phalacrocorax atriceps nivalis

The diet of Heard Island cormorants was investigated by examination of casts over three summer seasons. The diet was composed mainly of benthic organisms, with polychaetes being the most common prey for the greater part of the population. Fish were taken commonly only by the small breeding populatio...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Antarctic Science
Main Authors: Green, K., Williams, R., Woehler, E.J., Burton, H.R., Gales, N.J., Jones, R.T.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1990
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Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0954102090000177
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0954102090000177
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Summary:The diet of Heard Island cormorants was investigated by examination of casts over three summer seasons. The diet was composed mainly of benthic organisms, with polychaetes being the most common prey for the greater part of the population. Fish were taken commonly only by the small breeding population at the western end of the island, whereas elsewhere only 22% of casts contained any fish remains at all. The diet is therefore different from that reported for Phalacrocorax atriceps at other localities.