Further observations on the cephalopod diet of Wandering Albatrosses (Diomedea exulans L.) at Macquarie Island

• Published in: Emu - Austral Ornithology
• Main Author: van den Hoff, J
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: CSIRO Publishing 2001
• Subjects: Environmental Sciences; Environmental Science and Management; Wildlife and Habitat Management; Diomedea exulans; Macquarie Island
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1071/MU00017; http://ecite.utas.edu.au/22842

I found 18 cephalopod species, identified from their lower beaks, in stomachs and nest materials of Wandering Albatrosses (Diomedea exulans) at Macquarie Island during the 1970s. Squid occurred in all samples, no fish remains were found. Species of cephalopod that dominated a previous study were also found in this study. I report four species of cephalopod not previously recorded in the diet of Wandering Albatrosses at Macquarie Island: Pholidoteuthis boschmai, Brachioteuthis picta and two Chiroteuthis species. Beaks from smaller squid species may have been ingested secondarily by adult albatross and passed on to their chicks.