Diet of harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) in Mull and Skye (Inner Hebrides, western Scotland)
- 9 April 2003
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
- Vol. 83 (3) , 647-650
- https://doi.org/10.1017/s0025315403007604h
Abstract
Data on the diets of harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) from two islands in the Inner Hebrides (Scotland, UK) based on collections of faecal samples made in 1993 and 1994 are presented. The diet included a range of fish and cephalopod species, of which the most important were gadoids, particularly whiting (Merlangius merlangus), along with pelagic scad (Trachurus trachurus) and herring (Clupea harengus). There were significant temporal and spatial (between-island) differences in diet. The relatively high importance of pelagic species and the low importance of sandeels (Ammodytidae) is consistent with previous studies on grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) in the Inner Hebrides but differs from studies based in other parts of Scotland.Keywords
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