SEASONAL CHANGES IN FOOD INTAKE OF HARP SEALS ( PHOCA GROENLANDICA) AT 69°N
A bstract Food intake (PI), body mass ( BM ), and compartmental growth were recorded for 12 mo in four captive 2–4‐yr‐old male harp seals ( Phoca groenlandica ), exposed to an artificial light regime that closely resembled natural day length at 69°. In early May before molting, both FZ and BM decrea...
| Published in: | Marine Mammal Science |
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| Main Authors: | , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
1994
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-7692.1994.tb00487.x https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1748-7692.1994.tb00487.x https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1748-7692.1994.tb00487.x |
| Summary: | A bstract Food intake (PI), body mass ( BM ), and compartmental growth were recorded for 12 mo in four captive 2–4‐yr‐old male harp seals ( Phoca groenlandica ), exposed to an artificial light regime that closely resembled natural day length at 69°. In early May before molting, both FZ and BM decreased in all four animals. Total body fat ( TBF ) declined from 51% of BM in March (n = 4) to 30% in August (n = 2), while total body water ( TBW ) concomitantly increased from 37% to 51% and total body protein ( TBP ) from 11% to 17%. In July FI started to increase, while BM started to increase in August. TBF increased while TBW and TBP decreased from August, all three parameters reaching a stable level in October at 47%, 39%, and 12%, respectively. Thereafter, body composition was maintained rather constant until May. Between October and March/April FI fluctuated for all animals, while BM showed a fairly steady increase. Average daily amount of capelin consumed was 2.67 kg·d −1 , equivalent to 25,600 kJ·d −1 , or 343 kJ·kg −1 ·d −1 . |
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