ASSESSING NORTHERN ELEPHANT SEAL FEEDING HABITS BY STOMACH LAVAGE

A bstract Stomach lavaging was used to study the feeding habits of northern elephant seals ( Mirounga angustirostris ) found on San Miguel Island, California, during the spring of 1984. Fifty‐nine elephant seals were chemically immobilized with an intramuscular injection of ketamine hydrochloride. O...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Marine Mammal Science
Main Authors: Antonelis, George A., Lowry, Mark S., DeMaster, Douglas P., Fiscus, Clifford H.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Wiley 1987
Subjects:
Aquatic Science
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Pacific
San Miguel
Elephant Seal
Elephant Seals
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-7692.1987.tb00318.x
https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1748-7692.1987.tb00318.x
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1748-7692.1987.tb00318.x
Description
Summary:A bstract Stomach lavaging was used to study the feeding habits of northern elephant seals ( Mirounga angustirostris ) found on San Miguel Island, California, during the spring of 1984. Fifty‐nine elephant seals were chemically immobilized with an intramuscular injection of ketamine hydrochloride. Once immobilized, an animal's stomach was intubated, filled with 3–4 liters of water to create a slurry of the undigested food items, and evacuated into a collection device. The stomachs of 57 (96.6%) of the animals lavaged contained identifiable parts of prey. Twenty‐nine different food items were identified, 12 of which have not been previously reported as prey of the northern elephant seal: two teleost fish, Coryphaenoides acrolepis (Pacific rattail) and another unidentified macrourid; two crustaceans, Pasiphaea pacifica (glass shrimp) and Euphausia sp.; six squid, Abraliopsis felis, Gonatus berryi, Histioteuthis dofleini, Cranchia scabra, Taonius pavo, and Galiteuthis sp. and two octopi, Octopus dofleini and Octopus rubescens.

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