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Stomach contents of small cetaceans stranded along the Sea of Oman and Arabian Sea coasts of the Sultanate of Oman

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 February 2012

Louisa S. Ponnampalam ,
Tim J.Q. Collins ,
Gianna Minton ,
Isabelle Schulz ,
Howard Gray ,
Rupert F. G. Ormond  and
Robert M. Baldwin
Louisa S. Ponnampalam*
Affiliation:
Environment Society of Oman, PO Box 3955, P.C. 112, Ruwi, Sultanate of Oman University Marine Biological Station Millport, Isle of Cumbrae, Scotland KA28 0EG Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences, C308, IPS Building, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tim J.Q. Collins
Affiliation:
Environment Society of Oman, PO Box 3955, P.C. 112, Ruwi, Sultanate of Oman Ocean Giants Program, Wildlife Conservation Society, 2300 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, New York 10460, USA
Gianna Minton
Affiliation:
Environment Society of Oman, PO Box 3955, P.C. 112, Ruwi, Sultanate of Oman Institute of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, 94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia
Isabelle Schulz
Affiliation:
Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, D-27570 Bremerhaven, Germany
Howard Gray
Affiliation:
School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Durham, South Road DH1 3LE
Rupert F. G. Ormond
Affiliation:
University Marine Biological Station Millport, Isle of Cumbrae, Scotland KA28 0EG Marine Conservation International, 5/6 Lang Rigg South Queensferry, Edinburgh, Scotland EH30 9WN
Robert M. Baldwin
Affiliation:
Environment Society of Oman, PO Box 3955, P.C. 112, Ruwi, Sultanate of Oman
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: L.S. Ponnampalam, Environment Society of Oman, PO Box 3955, P.C. 112, Ruwi, Sultanate of Oman email: [email protected]
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Abstract

This study examined the stomach contents of 11 bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops sp.), five Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis) and two spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris) that were found stranded along the Omani coastline. Across the three species examined, a total of 4796 fish otoliths and 214 cephalopod beaks were found, representing at least 33 species in 22 families. Prey item importance was calculated using the percentage by number and percentage by frequency of occurrence methods, and a modified index of relative importance. The fish families Apogonidae, Carangidae and Scombridae were the most numerically important prey of the bottlenose dolphins. Sciaenidae was the most numerically important fish family for the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins. The myctophid Benthosema pterotum formed the majority of the prey items of spinner dolphins. Cephalopod remains found in the stomach samples were represented by the families Sepiidae, Loliginidae and Onychoteuthidae. The known depth distribution of prey items of bottlenose dolphins indicated that the animals fed in a wide variety of habitats. Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin prey items indicated feeding in shallow coastal areas. Spinner dolphins appear to have exploited the upper 200 m of the water column for food, where their vertically migrating mesopelagic prey are found at night. Most prey species found in the stomach contents do not appear to be of current commercial importance in Oman. However, the findings here indicated that all three species of dolphins were feeding in areas where artisanal and/or commercial fishing occurs and has conservation implications.

Keywords

cetaceansstomach contentsdietsfeedinghabitatSea of OmanGulf of MasirahOman
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 92 , Issue 8: Marine Mammals , December 2012 , pp. 1699 - 1710
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2012

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