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Seabird Journal, (23), p. 66-75, 2010

DOI: 10.61350/sbj.23.66

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Preponderance of mesopelagic fish in the diet of the Northern Fulmar Fulmarus glacialis around the Faroe Islands

Journal article published in 2011 by J. Danielsen ORCID, J. A. van Franeker ORCID, Van Franeker, B. Olsen, S. A. Bengtson
This paper is available in a repository.
This paper is available in a repository.

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Abstract

The Northern Fulmar Fulmarus glacialis is the most abundant seabird species on the Faroe Islands and is a significant consumer of marine resources. This diet study over the period 1998–2004 showed that fish was their major food source, supple-mented with squid (Teuthida), polychaetes (Polychaeta), crustaceans (Crustacea) and scavenged prey. Among the fish, the small, lipid-rich Myctophid Glacier Lanternfish Benthosema glaciale dominated in frequency of occurrence and number of otoliths. Other common fish species were Norway Pout Trisopterus esmarkii, Blue Whiting Micromesistius poutassou, and Gadidae. Myctophic fish mostly occur in deeper water layers, and their high abundance in a surface feeding seabird is remarkable. As B. glaciale is not commercially exploited around the Faroes, competition between fisheries and Northern Fulmars appears limited. Introduction The Northern Fulmar Fulmarus glacialis is known as a flexible feeder, utilising a wide range of fishes (Pisces), squid (Teuthida), macrozooplankton, scavenged prey discards and offal from commercial fisheries Hamer et al. 1997; Phillips et al. 1999; Ojowski et al. 2001; Garthe et al. 2004; Harris et al. 2007; Lorenz & Seneveratne 2008).