South American Sea Lions Otaria flavescens, a good indicator of relative spatial and temporal changes in the distribution and abundance of marine resources?
ABSTRACT. Oceanographic fluctuations and changes in ocean productivity directly affect the abundance and distribution of prey species, which in turn, affect the population status of their predators. In order to have a better understanding of this predator-prey relationship, the aim of the present st...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Fundação Zoobotânica do Rio Grande do Sul
2022-11-01
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| Series: | Iheringia: Série Zoologia |
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| Online Access: | http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0073-47212022000100222&tlng=en |
| _version_ | 1811312937085698048 |
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| author | Ana Harrington Gustavo A. Daneri Esperanza A. Varela Alejandra V. Volpedo |
| author_facet | Ana Harrington Gustavo A. Daneri Esperanza A. Varela Alejandra V. Volpedo |
| author_sort | Ana Harrington |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT. Oceanographic fluctuations and changes in ocean productivity directly affect the abundance and distribution of prey species, which in turn, affect the population status of their predators. In order to have a better understanding of this predator-prey relationship, the aim of the present study was to analyze the diet of the South American Sea Lion Otaria flavescens (Shaw, 1800) in two rookeries of the San Matias Gulf, in northern Patagonia (Argentina). A total of 52 scat samples of O. flavescens were collected in the Promontorio Belén colony and 35 in Caleta de los Loros during the late spring of 2011. The analysis of the samples indicated that at both localities fish occurred in 100% of scats with prey remains, followed by cephalopods (32.3%) and crustaceans (21.4%). The fish Raneya brasiliensis (Kaup, 1856) constituted the main prey taxon, both in terms of occurrence and numerical abundance. The octopod Octopus tehuelchus (d’ Orbigny, 1834) and squids of the genus Doryteuthis constituted the dominant cephalopod prey. It is concluded that sea lions focused their foraging activity on those species of demersal and benthic habits, associated with coastal and shelf waters. Furthermore, this study reports for the first time the feeding habits of the South American Sea Lion colony of Promontorio Belén, second in population size of Río Negro province. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T10:45:24Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-10f85f7460b34b5ab7468a00bd7052a9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1678-4766 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T10:45:24Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | Fundação Zoobotânica do Rio Grande do Sul |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Iheringia: Série Zoologia |
| spelling | doaj.art-10f85f7460b34b5ab7468a00bd7052a92022-12-22T02:49:49ZengFundação Zoobotânica do Rio Grande do SulIheringia: Série Zoologia1678-47662022-11-0111210.1590/1678-4766e2022023South American Sea Lions Otaria flavescens, a good indicator of relative spatial and temporal changes in the distribution and abundance of marine resources?Ana Harringtonhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-2304-8384Gustavo A. Danerihttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-0366-5828Esperanza A. Varelahttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-2782-538XAlejandra V. Volpedohttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-3321-311XABSTRACT. Oceanographic fluctuations and changes in ocean productivity directly affect the abundance and distribution of prey species, which in turn, affect the population status of their predators. In order to have a better understanding of this predator-prey relationship, the aim of the present study was to analyze the diet of the South American Sea Lion Otaria flavescens (Shaw, 1800) in two rookeries of the San Matias Gulf, in northern Patagonia (Argentina). A total of 52 scat samples of O. flavescens were collected in the Promontorio Belén colony and 35 in Caleta de los Loros during the late spring of 2011. The analysis of the samples indicated that at both localities fish occurred in 100% of scats with prey remains, followed by cephalopods (32.3%) and crustaceans (21.4%). The fish Raneya brasiliensis (Kaup, 1856) constituted the main prey taxon, both in terms of occurrence and numerical abundance. The octopod Octopus tehuelchus (d’ Orbigny, 1834) and squids of the genus Doryteuthis constituted the dominant cephalopod prey. It is concluded that sea lions focused their foraging activity on those species of demersal and benthic habits, associated with coastal and shelf waters. Furthermore, this study reports for the first time the feeding habits of the South American Sea Lion colony of Promontorio Belén, second in population size of Río Negro province.http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0073-47212022000100222&tlng=enPinnipedstrophic ecologySan Matias Gulf |
| spellingShingle | Ana Harrington Gustavo A. Daneri Esperanza A. Varela Alejandra V. Volpedo South American Sea Lions Otaria flavescens, a good indicator of relative spatial and temporal changes in the distribution and abundance of marine resources? Iheringia: Série Zoologia Pinnipeds trophic ecology San Matias Gulf |
| title | South American Sea Lions Otaria flavescens, a good indicator of relative spatial and temporal changes in the distribution and abundance of marine resources? |
| title_full | South American Sea Lions Otaria flavescens, a good indicator of relative spatial and temporal changes in the distribution and abundance of marine resources? |
| title_fullStr | South American Sea Lions Otaria flavescens, a good indicator of relative spatial and temporal changes in the distribution and abundance of marine resources? |
| title_full_unstemmed | South American Sea Lions Otaria flavescens, a good indicator of relative spatial and temporal changes in the distribution and abundance of marine resources? |
| title_short | South American Sea Lions Otaria flavescens, a good indicator of relative spatial and temporal changes in the distribution and abundance of marine resources? |
| title_sort | south american sea lions otaria flavescens a good indicator of relative spatial and temporal changes in the distribution and abundance of marine resources |
| topic | Pinnipeds trophic ecology San Matias Gulf |
| url | http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0073-47212022000100222&tlng=en |
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