Skip to main content
WCS
Menu
Library
Library Catalog
eJournals & eBooks
WCS Research
Archives
Research Use
Finding Aids
Digital Collections
WCS History
WCS Research
Research Publications
Science Data
Services for WCS Researchers
Archives Shop
Bronx Zoo
Department of Tropical Research
Browse By Product
About Us
FAQs
Intern or Volunteer
Staff
Donate
Search WCS.org
Search
search
Popular Search Terms
WCS History
Library and Archives
Library and Archives Menu
Library
Archives
WCS Research
Archives Shop
About Us
Donate
en
fr
Title
Stomach contents of small cetaceans stranded along the Sea of Oman and Arabian Sea coasts of the Sultanate of Oman
Author(s)
Ponnampalam, L. S.;Collins, T. J. Q.;Minton, G.;Schulz, I.;Gray, H.;Ormond, R. F. G.;Baldwin, R. M.
Published
2012
Publisher
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
Abstract
This study examined the stomach contents of 11 bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops sp.), five Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis) and two spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris) that were found stranded along the Omani coastline. Across the three species examined, a total of 4796 fish otoliths and 214 cephalopod beaks were found, representing at least 33 species in 22 families. Prey item importance was calculated using the percentage by number and percentage by frequency of occurrence methods, and a modified index of relative importance. The fish families Apogonidae, Carangidae and Scombridae were the most numerically important prey of the bottlenose dolphins. Sciaenidae was the most numerically important fish family for the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins. The myctophid Benthosema pterotum formed the majority of the prey items of spinner dolphins. Cephalopod remains found in the stomach samples were represented by the families Sepiidae, Loliginidae and Onychoteuthidae. The known depth distribution of prey items of bottlenose dolphins indicated that the animals fed in a wide variety of habitats. Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin prey items indicated feeding in shallow coastal areas. Spinner dolphins appear to have exploited the upper 200 m of the water column for food, where their vertically migrating mesopelagic prey are found at night. Most prey species found in the stomach contents do not appear to be of current commercial importance in Oman. However, the findings here indicated that all three species of dolphins were feeding in areas where artisanal and/or commercial fishing occurs and has conservation implications. © 2012 Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.
Keywords
cetaceans;diets;feeding;Gulf of Masirah;habitat;Oman;Sea of Oman;stomach contents;cephalopod;coast;commercial species;conservation management;dolphin;otolith;perciform;stomach content;stranding;vertical distribution;vertical migration;water column;Arabian Sea;Gulf of Masira;Indian Ocean
Access Full Text
A full-text copy of this article may be available. Please email the
WCS Library
to request.
Back
PUB14514