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Interactions between subantarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus tropicalis) and cookiecutter shark (Isistius plutodus) on the coast of Bahia, north-eastern Brazil

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 June 2009

Luciano Raimundo Alardo Souto ,
Janete Gomes Abrão-Oliveira ,
Rodrigo Maia-Nogueira  and
Luciano Wagner Dórea-Reis
Luciano Raimundo Alardo Souto*
Affiliation:
Centro de Resgate de Mamíferos Aquáticos (CRMA) do Instituto Mamíferos Aquáticos (IMA), Avenida Pinto de Aguiar, Rua dos Radioamadores, n.73, Pituaçu, 41741080, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil
Janete Gomes Abrão-Oliveira
Affiliation:
Centro de Pesquisa e Conservação dos Ecossistemas Aquáticos (BIOTA Aquática), Avenida Euclides da Cunha, 476, apartado 4B, Graça, 40150-120, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil
Rodrigo Maia-Nogueira
Affiliation:
Centro de Pesquisa e Conservação dos Ecossistemas Aquáticos (BIOTA Aquática), Avenida Euclides da Cunha, 476, apartado 4B, Graça, 40150-120, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil Universidade Católica do Salvador (UCSal), Avenida Prof. Pinto de Aguiar, 2589, Pituaçu, 40.710-000, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil
Luciano Wagner Dórea-Reis
Affiliation:
Centro de Resgate de Mamíferos Aquáticos (CRMA) do Instituto Mamíferos Aquáticos (IMA), Avenida Pinto de Aguiar, Rua dos Radioamadores, n.73, Pituaçu, 41741080, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: L.R.A. Souto, Centro de Resgate de Mamíferos Aquáticos (CRMA) do Instituto Mamíferos Aquáticos (IMA), Avenida Pinto de Aguiar, Rua dos Radioamadores, n.73, Pituaçu, 41741080, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil email: [email protected]
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Abstract

The predation of pinnipeds by sharks in tropical or temperate regions is a significant cause of mortality of this group and little is known about these interactions off the Brazilian coast, since the records of these species are occasional, mainly in the north-eastern region. The objective of this study is to report the predator–prey interactions between sub-Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus tropicalis) and cookiecutter shark (Isistius brasiliensis) off the coast of Bahia. The present study was based on numbers of pinnipeds stranded, where there had been observed two specimens of sub-Antarctic fur seal, A. tropicalis. The diagnostic identification of shark predators was through the analysis of the morphology and conditions of the wounds compared with specialized literature. The measures are fit in category III, to whose height and width they are similar, suggesting to have been inferred for I. plutodus. This study confirms the necessity for continuing to study the interactions between sharks and pinnipeds in order to better understand the predator–prey relations off the Brazilian coast, as well as to question the extent to which these interactions cause the hindrance of this group.

Keywords

Arctocephalus tropicalisIsistius plutodusBahiaBrazil
Type
Research Article
Information
Marine Biodiversity Records , Volume 2 , January 2009 , e123
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2009

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