Fish prey of the Antarctic fur seal Arctocephalus gazella at South Georgia

• Main Authors: North, A. W., Croxall, J. P., Doidge, D. W.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: British Antarctic Survey 1983
• Subjects: Antarctic; Bird Island; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctic Fur Seal; Antarctic Fur Seals; Arctocephalus gazella; Icefish; Notothenia rossii
• Online Access: https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/33821/; https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/33821/6/490.pdf

A small collection of otoliths was obtained from scatsof sub-adult male Antarctic fur seals Arctocephalus gazella at Bird Island, South Georgia. A reference collection of otoliths from South Georgia fish was used to identify the material and to derive relationships between otolith length and fish weight which were then applied to the sample otolith, after correcting for loss of material during digestion. The pelagic icefish Chamsocephalus gunnari was the main prey, in terms of numbers (55%) and weight (76%) of fish consumed. Other species taken include thelantern fish Gymnoscoscopelus nicholsi, the nototheniids Notothenia rossii. Notothenia gibberifrons, and Patagonotothen larseni and Pseudochaenichthys georgianus. The estimated mean weight of the C. gunnari specimens was 160kg (range 45-560g) and most were young adults aged 3-5 years; individuals of other species were mainly much smaller.