New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research abstracts
Prey spectrum of breeding sooty shearwaters (Puffinus griseus) in New
Zealand
J. B. CRUZ1
C. LALAS2
J. B. JILLETT3
J. C. KITSON1
P. O'B. LYVER1
M. IMBER4
J. E. NEWMAN1
H. MOLLER1+
1Department of Zoology
University of Otago
P. O. Box 56
Dunedin, New Zealand
email: henrik.moller@stonebow.otago.ac.nz
2P. O. Box 31
Portobello
Dunedin, New Zealand
3Department of Marine Science
University of Otago
P. O. Box 56
Dunedin, New Zealand
4Department of Conservation
P. O. Box 10 420
Wellington, New Zealand
Abstract Prey remains from sooty shearwater (
Puffinus
griseus Gmelin, 1792) regurgitates, stomachs, and gizzards, were collected
from four breeding colonies in southern New Zealand. We found a wide range of
prey species (minimum 39 species of 35 genera), the most important of which
were crustaceans (particularly euphausiid krill and hyperiid amphipods),
cephalopods (notably arrow squid), fishes, and salps. Malacostracans (krill,
amphipods, and decapods) were the predominant taxa of prey in both diversity
and frequency of occurrence. Regurgitates were easily obtained from harvested
chicks and provided the greatest range of prey remains (36 of the 39 species
identified). However, these regurgitates comprised only 29% of the total number
of samples collected. Fish, malacostracan, and salp prey ranged from 4 to 170
mm in size, whereas total lengths of squid ranged from 50 to 535 mm. Based on
size and mass, the largest squid were undoubtedly scavenged, possibly in
association with commercial fishers. The geographical distribution of prey
species indicate that most sooty shearwaters breeding near Stewart Island
forage in waters lying between the Subtropical and Polar Fronts. Our results
suggest that the abundance of krill, the impact of fisheries and the influence
of climate perturbations on prey species may play important roles in sooty
shearwater breeding and survival.
Keywords diet; foraging; New Zealand; sooty shearwaters;
Puffinus griseus; scavenging
+Author for correspondence.
M00087
Received 6
December 2000; accepted 16 March 2001
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