Feeding habits of bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus)
The objective of the present study was to assess the feeding habits of bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus) from the Svalbard area, Norway. Stomach and/or intestine contents were collected from 47 individuals shot between May and September (1989-1996). Prey specimens were identified from whole specim...
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Norwegian Polar Institute
2008
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npolardata:oai:npolar.no:dataset/93e573f2-ee02-5875-856b-72ddbfc67915 2024-03-03T22:15:37+00:00 Feeding habits of bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus) Andersen, Magnus Gjertz, Ian Gulliksen, Bjørn Lydersen, Christian Hjelset, M. A. BEGINDATE: 1989-05-01 ENDDATE: 1996-09-30 ENVELOPE(16.5,16.5,78.25,78.25) OCEAN, ATLANTIC OCEAN, NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN, SVALBARD AND JAN MAYEN, Spitsbergen GEOGRAPHIC REGION, ARCTIC GEOGRAPHIC REGION, POLAR 2008-07-09 http://data.npolar.no/dataset/93e573f2-ee02-5875-856b-72ddbfc67915 unknown Norwegian Polar Institute BIOTA biology EARTH SCIENCE BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES MAMMALS CARNIVORES SEALS/SEA LIONS/WALRUSES BIOSPHERE ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS Dataset 2008 npolardata 2017-09-07T07:14:17Z The objective of the present study was to assess the feeding habits of bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus) from the Svalbard area, Norway. Stomach and/or intestine contents were collected from 47 individuals shot between May and September (1989-1996). Prey specimens were identified from whole specimens or hard items such as fish otoliths, crustacean exoskeletons, cephalopod beaks, polychaete jaws, gastropod operculae and mollusc shell remains. To show the dietary contribution of the different prey items found in the gastrointestinal tracts, the frequency of occurrence and the numerical frequency methods were used. Fifty-nine percent or more of the gastrointestinal tracts contained five or more prey organisms. The most frequent fish species recorded was polar cod (Boreogadus saida), which was found in 49% of the gastrointestinal tracts, followed by sculpins (Cottidae spp.) (44%), long rough dab (Hippoglossoides platessoides) (28%) and the stout eelblenny (Lumpenus medius) (18%). The most frequent crustaceans were the spider crab (Hyas araneus) (59%), Sabinea septemcarinatus (54%), Sclerocrangon boreas (46%) and Lebbeus polaris (18%). Of the molluscs, the whelk Buccinum spp. occurred in 18% of the gastrointestinal tracts. Other species such as cephalopods, polychaete worms, amphipods and echiuran worms occurred in small amounts. There were no significant differences in foraging behaviour between males and females. This study also shows that in the Svalbard area bearded seals are benthic feeders and utilise a wide variety of organisms. Dataset Arctic Boreogadus saida Erignathus barbatus Jan Mayen North Atlantic polar cod Svalbard Spitsbergen walrus* Norwegian Polar Data Centre Arctic Svalbard Norway Jan Mayen Svalbard ENVELOPE(20.000,20.000,78.000,78.000) Boreas ENVELOPE(-3.933,-3.933,-71.300,-71.300) ENVELOPE(16.5,16.5,78.25,78.25) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Norwegian Polar Data Centre |
op_collection_id |
npolardata |
language |
unknown |
topic |
BIOTA biology EARTH SCIENCE BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES MAMMALS CARNIVORES SEALS/SEA LIONS/WALRUSES BIOSPHERE ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS |
spellingShingle |
BIOTA biology EARTH SCIENCE BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES MAMMALS CARNIVORES SEALS/SEA LIONS/WALRUSES BIOSPHERE ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS Andersen, Magnus Gjertz, Ian Gulliksen, Bjørn Lydersen, Christian Hjelset, M. A. Feeding habits of bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus) |
topic_facet |
BIOTA biology EARTH SCIENCE BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES MAMMALS CARNIVORES SEALS/SEA LIONS/WALRUSES BIOSPHERE ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS |
description |
The objective of the present study was to assess the feeding habits of bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus) from the Svalbard area, Norway. Stomach and/or intestine contents were collected from 47 individuals shot between May and September (1989-1996). Prey specimens were identified from whole specimens or hard items such as fish otoliths, crustacean exoskeletons, cephalopod beaks, polychaete jaws, gastropod operculae and mollusc shell remains. To show the dietary contribution of the different prey items found in the gastrointestinal tracts, the frequency of occurrence and the numerical frequency methods were used. Fifty-nine percent or more of the gastrointestinal tracts contained five or more prey organisms. The most frequent fish species recorded was polar cod (Boreogadus saida), which was found in 49% of the gastrointestinal tracts, followed by sculpins (Cottidae spp.) (44%), long rough dab (Hippoglossoides platessoides) (28%) and the stout eelblenny (Lumpenus medius) (18%). The most frequent crustaceans were the spider crab (Hyas araneus) (59%), Sabinea septemcarinatus (54%), Sclerocrangon boreas (46%) and Lebbeus polaris (18%). Of the molluscs, the whelk Buccinum spp. occurred in 18% of the gastrointestinal tracts. Other species such as cephalopods, polychaete worms, amphipods and echiuran worms occurred in small amounts. There were no significant differences in foraging behaviour between males and females. This study also shows that in the Svalbard area bearded seals are benthic feeders and utilise a wide variety of organisms. |
format |
Dataset |
author |
Andersen, Magnus Gjertz, Ian Gulliksen, Bjørn Lydersen, Christian Hjelset, M. A. |
author_facet |
Andersen, Magnus Gjertz, Ian Gulliksen, Bjørn Lydersen, Christian Hjelset, M. A. |
author_sort |
Andersen, Magnus |
title |
Feeding habits of bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus) |
title_short |
Feeding habits of bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus) |
title_full |
Feeding habits of bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus) |
title_fullStr |
Feeding habits of bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Feeding habits of bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus) |
title_sort |
feeding habits of bearded seals (erignathus barbatus) |
publisher |
Norwegian Polar Institute |
publishDate |
2008 |
url |
http://data.npolar.no/dataset/93e573f2-ee02-5875-856b-72ddbfc67915 |
op_coverage |
BEGINDATE: 1989-05-01 ENDDATE: 1996-09-30 ENVELOPE(16.5,16.5,78.25,78.25) OCEAN, ATLANTIC OCEAN, NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN, SVALBARD AND JAN MAYEN, Spitsbergen GEOGRAPHIC REGION, ARCTIC GEOGRAPHIC REGION, POLAR |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(20.000,20.000,78.000,78.000) ENVELOPE(-3.933,-3.933,-71.300,-71.300) ENVELOPE(16.5,16.5,78.25,78.25) |
geographic |
Arctic Svalbard Norway Jan Mayen Svalbard Boreas |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Svalbard Norway Jan Mayen Svalbard Boreas |
genre |
Arctic Boreogadus saida Erignathus barbatus Jan Mayen North Atlantic polar cod Svalbard Spitsbergen walrus* |
genre_facet |
Arctic Boreogadus saida Erignathus barbatus Jan Mayen North Atlantic polar cod Svalbard Spitsbergen walrus* |
_version_ |
1792545071247130624 |