New insights into the diets of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) in the Salish Sea revealed by analysis of fatty acid signatures
Harbor seals (Phoca fvitulina) are an abundant predator along the west coast of North America, and there is considerable interest in their diet composition, especially in regard to predation on valued fish stocks. Available informationon harbor seal diets, primarily derived from scat analysis, sugge...
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ftaquaticcommons:oai:generic.eprints.org:14491 2023-05-15T16:33:06+02:00 New insights into the diets of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) in the Salish Sea revealed by analysis of fatty acid signatures Bromaghin, Jeffrey F. Lance, Monique M. Elliott, Elizabeth W. Jeffries, Steven J. Acevedo-Gutierrez, Alejandro Kennish, John M. 2013 application/pdf http://aquaticcommons.org/14491/ http://fishbull.noaa.gov/1111/bromaghin.pdf http://aquaticcommons.org/14491/1/bromaghin.pdf en eng http://aquaticcommons.org/14491/1/bromaghin.pdf Bromaghin, Jeffrey F. and Lance, Monique M. and Elliott, Elizabeth W. and Jeffries, Steven J. and Acevedo-Gutierrez, Alejandro and Kennish, John M. (2013) New insights into the diets of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) in the Salish Sea revealed by analysis of fatty acid signatures. Fishery Bulletin, 111(1), pp. 13-26. 10.7755/FB.111.1.2 <http://doi.org/10.7755/FB.111.1.2 > Biology Ecology Fisheries Article PeerReviewed 2013 ftaquaticcommons https://doi.org/10.7755/FB.111.1.2 2020-02-27T09:26:24Z Harbor seals (Phoca fvitulina) are an abundant predator along the west coast of North America, and there is considerable interest in their diet composition, especially in regard to predation on valued fish stocks. Available informationon harbor seal diets, primarily derived from scat analysis, suggests that adult salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.), Pacific Herring (Clupea pallasii), and gadids predominate. Because diet assessments based on scat analysis may be biased, we investigated diet composition through quantitative analysis of fatty acid signatures. Blubber samples from 49 harbor seals captured in western North America from haul-outs within the area of the San Juan Islands and southern Strait of Georgia in the Salish Sea were analyzed for fatty acid composition, along with 269 fish and squid specimens representing 27 potential prey classes. Diet estimates varied spatially, demographically, and among individual harbor seals. Findings confirmed the prevalence of previously identified prey species in harbor seal diets, but other species also contributed significantly. In particular, Black (Sebastes melanops) and Yellowtail (S. flavidus) Rockfish were estimated to compose up to 50% of some individual seal diets. Specialization and high predation rates on Black and Yellowtail Rockfish by a subset of harbor seals may play a role in the population dynamics of these regional rockfish stocks that is greater than previously realized. Article in Journal/Newspaper harbor seal Phoca vitulina International Association of Aquatic and Marine Science Libraries and Information Centers (IAMSLIC): Aquatic Commons Pacific San Juan Fishery Bulletin 111 1 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
International Association of Aquatic and Marine Science Libraries and Information Centers (IAMSLIC): Aquatic Commons |
op_collection_id |
ftaquaticcommons |
language |
English |
topic |
Biology Ecology Fisheries |
spellingShingle |
Biology Ecology Fisheries Bromaghin, Jeffrey F. Lance, Monique M. Elliott, Elizabeth W. Jeffries, Steven J. Acevedo-Gutierrez, Alejandro Kennish, John M. New insights into the diets of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) in the Salish Sea revealed by analysis of fatty acid signatures |
topic_facet |
Biology Ecology Fisheries |
description |
Harbor seals (Phoca fvitulina) are an abundant predator along the west coast of North America, and there is considerable interest in their diet composition, especially in regard to predation on valued fish stocks. Available informationon harbor seal diets, primarily derived from scat analysis, suggests that adult salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.), Pacific Herring (Clupea pallasii), and gadids predominate. Because diet assessments based on scat analysis may be biased, we investigated diet composition through quantitative analysis of fatty acid signatures. Blubber samples from 49 harbor seals captured in western North America from haul-outs within the area of the San Juan Islands and southern Strait of Georgia in the Salish Sea were analyzed for fatty acid composition, along with 269 fish and squid specimens representing 27 potential prey classes. Diet estimates varied spatially, demographically, and among individual harbor seals. Findings confirmed the prevalence of previously identified prey species in harbor seal diets, but other species also contributed significantly. In particular, Black (Sebastes melanops) and Yellowtail (S. flavidus) Rockfish were estimated to compose up to 50% of some individual seal diets. Specialization and high predation rates on Black and Yellowtail Rockfish by a subset of harbor seals may play a role in the population dynamics of these regional rockfish stocks that is greater than previously realized. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Bromaghin, Jeffrey F. Lance, Monique M. Elliott, Elizabeth W. Jeffries, Steven J. Acevedo-Gutierrez, Alejandro Kennish, John M. |
author_facet |
Bromaghin, Jeffrey F. Lance, Monique M. Elliott, Elizabeth W. Jeffries, Steven J. Acevedo-Gutierrez, Alejandro Kennish, John M. |
author_sort |
Bromaghin, Jeffrey F. |
title |
New insights into the diets of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) in the Salish Sea revealed by analysis of fatty acid signatures |
title_short |
New insights into the diets of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) in the Salish Sea revealed by analysis of fatty acid signatures |
title_full |
New insights into the diets of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) in the Salish Sea revealed by analysis of fatty acid signatures |
title_fullStr |
New insights into the diets of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) in the Salish Sea revealed by analysis of fatty acid signatures |
title_full_unstemmed |
New insights into the diets of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) in the Salish Sea revealed by analysis of fatty acid signatures |
title_sort |
new insights into the diets of harbor seals (phoca vitulina) in the salish sea revealed by analysis of fatty acid signatures |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
http://aquaticcommons.org/14491/ http://fishbull.noaa.gov/1111/bromaghin.pdf http://aquaticcommons.org/14491/1/bromaghin.pdf |
geographic |
Pacific San Juan |
geographic_facet |
Pacific San Juan |
genre |
harbor seal Phoca vitulina |
genre_facet |
harbor seal Phoca vitulina |
op_relation |
http://aquaticcommons.org/14491/1/bromaghin.pdf Bromaghin, Jeffrey F. and Lance, Monique M. and Elliott, Elizabeth W. and Jeffries, Steven J. and Acevedo-Gutierrez, Alejandro and Kennish, John M. (2013) New insights into the diets of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) in the Salish Sea revealed by analysis of fatty acid signatures. Fishery Bulletin, 111(1), pp. 13-26. 10.7755/FB.111.1.2 <http://doi.org/10.7755/FB.111.1.2 > |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.7755/FB.111.1.2 |
container_title |
Fishery Bulletin |
container_volume |
111 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1766022812515958784 |