The diet of Antarctic fur seals during the late autumn and early winter around Heard Island

Abstract

The diet of Antarctic fur seals around Heard Island was investigated in May and June 1990. Fish predominated in samples, occurring in an average of 93.4% of droppings. Otoliths from pelagic fish (mainly myctophids) constituted over 96% of all otoliths. There was an increase in the occurrence of squid from 3.4% in summer 1987/88 to 49.3% in the present study. For the fish species Gymnoscopelus nicholsi (Gilbert), 10.3% of otoliths recovered from scats were considered suitable for measurement compared with 30.5% from scats at Heard Island in 1987/88; this greater level of erosion provides further evidence that the seals were foraging further afield. The study demonstrates a significant difference between summer 1987/88 and winter 1990.