Foraging preferences of an apex marine predator revealed through stomach content and stable isotope analyses

Insights into the food habits of predators are essential for maintaining healthy predator populations and the functioning of ecosystems. Stomach content and stable isotope analyses were used to investigate the foraging habits of an apex predator, the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Global ecology and conservation 2021-01, Vol.25, p.e01396, Article e01396
Main Authors: McCluskey, S.M., Sprogis, K.R., London, J.M., Bejder, L., Loneragan, N.R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bottlenose dolphin
Diet
Foraging ecology
Predator-prey dynamics
Stable isotopes
Stomach content analyses
Trophic ecology
Tursiops aduncus
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Summary:Insights into the food habits of predators are essential for maintaining healthy predator populations and the functioning of ecosystems. Stomach content and stable isotope analyses were used to investigate the foraging habits of an apex predator, the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus) in south-western Australia. A total of 2,594 prey items from 26 families were identified from the stomachs of 10 deceased stranded dolphins. Fish otoliths from stomach contents were used to identify fish to family or species level. Ninety-three percent of identified stomach contents were perciforme fishes, however, perciformes comprised only 30% of the catch during prey sampling. Gobiidae species, small fish generally
ISSN:2351-9894
2351-9894
DOI:10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01396