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Diet of harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) in Mull and Skye (Inner Hebrides, western Scotland)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 April 2003

G.J. Pierce  and
M.B. Santos
G.J. Pierce
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University of Aberdeen, Tillydrone Avenue, Aberdeen, Scotland, AB24 2TZ, UK
M.B. Santos
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University of Aberdeen, Tillydrone Avenue, Aberdeen, Scotland, AB24 2TZ, UK
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Abstract

Data on the diets of harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) from two islands in the Inner Hebrides (Scotland, UK) based on collections of faecal samples made in 1993 and 1994 are presented. The diet included a range of fish and cephalopod species, of which the most important were gadoids, particularly whiting (Merlangius merlangus), along with pelagic scad (Trachurus trachurus) and herring (Clupea harengus). There were significant temporal and spatial (between-island) differences in diet. The relatively high importance of pelagic species and the low importance of sandeels (Ammodytidae) is consistent with previous studies on grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) in the Inner Hebrides but differs from studies based in other parts of Scotland.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 83 , Issue 3 , June 2003 , pp. 647 - 650
Copyright
2003 Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom

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