The diet and foraging ecology of gray seals (Halichoerus grypus) in United States waters
Item
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Title
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The diet and foraging ecology of gray seals (Halichoerus grypus) in United States waters
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Identifier
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d_2009_2013:3e3b69087098:10141
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identifier
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10438
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Creator
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Ampela, Kristen,
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Contributor
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Richard R. Veit
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Date
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2009
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Ecology | Biological oceanography | Diet | Fatty acids | Fishery interactions | Foraging | Gray seal | Otoliths
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Abstract
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Once extinct in U.S. waters, there are now more than 7,000 gray seals (Halichoerus grypus) that breed and forage in the waters of Maine and Massachusetts. This is the first long-term study of the diet and foraging behavior of this species in its U.S. range. I used hard parts in 305 seal scats and 49 stomachs, and fatty acid profiles in 45 seal blubber cores, to (1) reconstruct the diet of gray seals in U.S. waters, and (2) investigate regional, temporal, and intraspecific variation in the diet. I compared species in the diet with those most abundant in the seals' range, as measured by bottom trawl surveys. I analyzed the tracks of 6 satellite-tagged seals, and asked which prey species were most abundant in areas where foraging activity occurred. I recovered a total of 3,798 otoliths, and 7,005 prey individuals from 34 prey taxa. Sand lance (Ammodytes spp.) dominated the diet by weight (53.3% of total) and number (66.3% of total). Sand lance, winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus), red/white hake (Urophycis spp.) and Atlantic cod ( Gadus morhua) together made up 82% of the diet by weight. Cod comprised 6.4% of the diet by weight, although this varied seasonally. Fatty acid profiles were best able to classify seals by age (young-of-the-year pups vs. yearlings, Wilks-Lambda = 0.27, F25,19 = 2.07, p <0.054), suggesting that diet differences were most pronounced between these two groups. Consistent 2:1 ratios of 22:6n3 and 20:5n3 fatty acids occurred in seal blubber (10.12/5.00 = 2.02). These ratios are similar to those in smooth skate (Malacoraja senta, 20.87/10.02 = 2.08) and alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus , 15.04/7.48 = 2.01), indicating that these species were important in the diet. Seals consumed abundant species, and tracked interannual trends in sand lance abundance, but the diet could not be predicted from prey availability alone. Satellite telemetry of seals revealed area restricted search behavior and central place foraging activity in areas with high abundance of sand lance and winter flounder, and these taxa comprised over 72% of the diet estimated from scats.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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2009_2013.csv
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Biology
