The diet of Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) in Terra Nova Bay using stable isotope analysis

Stable isotope analyses were used to investigate the diet of Weddell seals in Terra Nova Bay (Ross Sea) and the potential variation of their foraging behaviour with age, sex and body mass. For this purpose, skin samples were collected from adult breeding seals and pups, together with muscle samples...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The European Zoological Journal
Main Authors: P. Rumolo, I. A. Zappes, A. Fabiani, M. Barra, A. Rakaj, R. Palozzi, G. Allegrucci
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2020
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1080/24750263.2020.1720832
https://doaj.org/article/b4290328edc1487fa7c90578eb85e68e
Description
Summary:Stable isotope analyses were used to investigate the diet of Weddell seals in Terra Nova Bay (Ross Sea) and the potential variation of their foraging behaviour with age, sex and body mass. For this purpose, skin samples were collected from adult breeding seals and pups, together with muscle samples of their potential prey. Our results showed variation in foraging behavior between age classes, with pups reporting lower δ13C values than adults, while no significant differences in δ15N were recorded. In addition, contrary to expectations, a mixing model analysis showed that adult seals foraged mainly on shallow benthic prey, such as Trematomus spp. (34.1%) and Dissostichus mawsoni (21.1%), rather than on pelagic fish, such as Pleuragramma antarcticum (9.8%). Overall, with this paper we provide novel diet information on a seal colony not previously sampled, adding new insight into the feeding ecology of a top Antarctic predator.