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Food of striped dolphin, Stenella coeruleoalba, in the Ligurian Sea

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2009

M. Würtz  and
D. Marrale
M. Würtz
Affiliation:
Istituto di Anatomia Comparata, Università di Genova, Genova, Italy
D. Marrale
Affiliation:
Istituto di Anatomia Comparata, Università di Genova, Genova, Italy
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Extract

The stomachsof 23 striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba Meyen, 1833, Cetacea), stranded along the Ligurian coast (western Mediterranean Sea), contained 32 species of cephalopods, crustaceans and fishes, totalling an estimated 2,723 prey specimens representing about 36 kg in weight. Cephalopods and bony fishes were equally important in the diet (50%). Todarodes sagittatus (34.5%) and Micromesistius poutassou (25.9%) were found to be the most important food species. Other species belonging to six cephalopod families, three crustacean families and nine bony fish families, contributed to the diet with variable numbers, weights, and occurrences, demonstrating the opportunistic character of striped dolphin feeding.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 73 , Issue 3 , August 1993 , pp. 571 - 578
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 1993

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