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Summer diet of leopard seals (Hydrurga leptonyx) in Prydz Bay, Eastern Antarctica

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Abstract

The diet of male and female leopard seals (Hydrurga leptonyx) was investigated in Prydz Bay, Eastern Antarctica. A total of 70 scats, 1 regurgitate and 3 stomach contents were collected, during the austral summer, between November 1999 and March 2002. Eight prey species were identified, including birds, mammals, fish and invertebrates. Adelie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) were the main prey item and crabeater seals (Lobodon carcinophagus), benthic and pelagic fish, amphipods and krill were found to supplement the diet. Cephalopods did not occur in the diet. Crabeater seals were still being captured well after weaning, and were found in the diet of both male and female leopard seals.

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Acknowledgements

The authors especially thank the other members of the leopard seal research team, including Rachael Gray, Damien Higgins and Julie Barnes for their veterinary expertise, and Andrew Irvine, Kate Anderson, Michelle Chambers and Clair Holland for their field assistance. We also thank the members of the 1999–2002 Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions, including the helicopter pilots and boat drivers who assisted with collecting leopard seal scats, and Brett Hill for sieving and sorting scats. We thank Dick Williams, Australian Antarctic Division, for identifying the fish otoliths, and Helen Stoddard and Anna Murray, Australian Museum, who identified the invertebrates. The project was funded by an Antarctic Science Advisory Committee grant, by the Australian Research Council, and by the National Geographic Committee for Research and Exploration. The Australian Antarctic Division provided logistics support in the field. A PhD stipend (S.H.-A.) was provided by the Winifred Scot Foundation. The authors thank Rhondda Canfield and two journal reviewers for their constructive comments.

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  1. Australian Marine Mammal Research Centre, Zoological Parks Board of NSW, Veterinary Science Faculty, University of Sydney, P.O. Box 20, Mosman, NSW, 2088, Australia

    S. A. Hall-Aspland & T. L. Rogers

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  1. S. A. Hall-Aspland
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  2. T. L. Rogers
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Correspondence to S. A. Hall-Aspland.

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Hall-Aspland, S.A., Rogers, T.L. Summer diet of leopard seals (Hydrurga leptonyx) in Prydz Bay, Eastern Antarctica. Polar Biol 27, 729–734 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-004-0662-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-004-0662-9

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