Fishes in the Diet of the Imperial Cormorant Phalacrocorax Atriceps at Punta Loberia, Chubut, Argentina

Abstract

The diet of the Imperial Cormorant Phalacrocorax atriceps was studied from 43 whole stomachs obtained at Punta Loberia, Chubut, Argentina, with special emphasis on the fishes consumed. Eleven teleost and one agnathan species, and various invertebrates (crustaceans, cephalopods, polychaetes, gastropods and echiurids, in that order) were identified. Tripterygion cunninghami, besides being the most frequently occurring species, was numerically also the best represented (up to 70 specimens in one stomach), with a mean number of 17 specimens per stomach, followed by the anchovy Engraulis anchoita and Raneya brasiliensis. Other fish species were much more poorly represented, both in terms of frequency of occurrence and relative abundance. The mean number of fish species per stomach was 2.7.