You are what you eat: describing the foraging ecology of southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) using blubber fatty acids.

• Published in: Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences
• Main Authors: Bradshaw, C., Hindell, M., Best, N., Phillips, K., Wilson, G., Nichols, P.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Royal Soc London 2003
• Subjects: Fatty Acid Signature Analysis; Foraging; Diet; Spatial Variation; Seasonal Variation; Antarctic; Southern Ocean; The Antarctic; Bradshaw; Corey; Antarc*; Elephant Seal; Elephant Seals; Mirounga leonina; Southern Elephant Seal; Southern Elephant Seals
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2440/48210; https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2003.2371

Understanding the trophodynamics of marine ecosystems requires data on the temporal and spatial variation in predator diet but, particularly for wide-ranging species, these data are often unavailable. The southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) consumes large quantities of fish and squid prey in t...