Diet of Ringed Seals (Phoca Hispida) in a Fjord of West Svalbard

• Published in: ARCTIC
• Main Authors: Weslawski, J. Marcin, Ryg, Morten, Smith, Thomas G., Oritsland, Nils Are
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: The Arctic Institute of North America 1994
• Subjects: Amphipoda; Animal food; Arctic cod; Biological sampling; Ecology; Euphausiacea; Fjords; Internal organs; Necropsy; Predation; Redfishes; Seals (Animals); Shrimp; Kongsfjorden; Svalbard; Arctic; Phoques; Arctique*; Boreogadus saida; Kongsfjord*; Pandalus borealis; Phoca hispida; Themisto; Themisto libellula; Thysanoessa inermis
• Online Access: https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/64334

Stomachs of 134 ringed seals from West Svalbard (Kongsfjorden) and East Svalbard (drift ice) were examined. Twenty-four prey taxa were found. The most important items were arctic cod (Boreogadus saida), shrimp (Pandalus borealis), krill (Thysanoessa inermis) and the amphipod Themisto libellula. In spring young redfish (Sebastes sp.) was an important food item; in summer seals fed on dense aggregations of krill in front of glaciers. Mysids, amphipod crustaceans and small size classes of coastal fish species were abundant in Kongsfjorden, but seals take them as secondary food items only.Key words: ringed seals, Phoca hispida, arctic food web, fjord ecology, Svalbard, prey taxa On a étudié l'estomac de 134 phoques annelés du Svalbard occidental (Kongsfjorden) et du Svalbard oriental (glace de dérive). On a recensé 24 espèces-proies. Les plus importantes étaient la morue arctique (Boreogadus saida), la crevette (Pandalus borealis), le krill (Thysanoessa inermis) et l'amphipode Themisto libellula. Au printemps, la sébaste juvénile (sp. Sebastes) représentait une importante source alimentaire; en été, les phoques se nourrissaient du krill trouvé en forte concentration au pied des glaciers. Dans le Kongsfjorden, il y avait en abondance des mysis, des amphipodes et des espèces de poissons côtiers de petite taille, mais qui ne constituaient pour les phoques qu'une source alimentaire secondaire.Mots clés : phoques annelés, Phoca hispida, réseau trophique de l'Arctique, écologie de fjord, Svalbard, espèce-proie