Diet of the Australian fur seal in Tasmania

Abstract

In Tasmanian waters, fish were the most prevalent prey taxa in the diet of Arctocephalus pusillus dorlferus, with cephalopods occurring less frequently. Occurrence of crustaceans and birds was negligible. Most prey remains of cephalopods were obtained from regurgitates, whereas faeces provided most fish remains. Twenty-five species of fish were identified from faecal and regurgitate samples, with redbait (Emmelichthys nitidus), jack mackerel (Trachurus declivis) and leatherjackets (Monacanthidae) constituting the main prey species. There was an inverse relationship between the occurrence of fish and that of cephalopods in the samples from Bass Strait, with fish predominating in winter and cephalopods in summer. Size estimates of prey indicated that mainly adult fish and squid were eaten. Most samples contained remains of a single species, suggesting the use of monospecific aggregations of prey items.