ARCTIC Benthic Prey in a Bowhead Whale from the
ABSTRACT. Stomach contents were examined from a bowhead whale, Balaena mysricerus, killed at Gambell, Alaska, on I May 1982. It contained an estimated 20-40 litres of recently ingested prey, principally gammarid amphipods (91.7 % of the volume of a 157-ml subsample) and cumaceans (7%). All identifie...
Main Authors: | , , |
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Format: | Text |
Language: | English |
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Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.557.9236 http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/arctic37-2-166.pdf |
Summary: | ABSTRACT. Stomach contents were examined from a bowhead whale, Balaena mysricerus, killed at Gambell, Alaska, on I May 1982. It contained an estimated 20-40 litres of recently ingested prey, principally gammarid amphipods (91.7 % of the volume of a 157-ml subsample) and cumaceans (7%). All identified prey were primarily epibenthic forms. The stomach of this whale was signifsant in several respects: (1) it contained the largest amount of food recorded in any whale taken and examined in spring; (2) it provided the first direct evidence of bowheads feeding in the Bering Sea; and (3) the contents indicated that benthic prey are sometimes intentionally fed upon. |
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