Diet of the ringed seal (<i>Phoca hispida</i>) in Greenland

Helle Siegstad; Pia Barner Neve; Mads Peter Heide-Jørgensen; Tero Härkönen

doi:10.7557/3.2991

Diet of the ringed seal (Phoca hispida) in Greenland

Authors

Helle Siegstad Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, PO.Box 570,3900 Nuuk
Pia Barner Neve Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, PO.Box 570,3900 Nuuk
Mads Peter Heide-Jørgensen Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, c/o National Environmental Research Institute, Department of Arctic Environment, Tagensvej 135, DK-2200 København N
Tero Härkönen Swedish Museum of Natural History, Env. Contaminant Group, S-104 05 Stockholm, c/o Höga 160, S-442 73 Kärna

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7557/3.2991

Keywords:

ringed seals, Phoca hispida, Greenland, diet

Abstract

Analysis of 454 stomachs of ringed seals (Phoca hispida) collected from the Inuit hunt in six municipalities in West Greenland and 30 alimentary tracts collected by scientists in East Greenland, showed seasonal and regional differences in the diet. In Northwest and East Greenland polar cod (Boreogadus saida) and Arctic cod (Arctogadus glacialis) were the most dominant prey items. In contrast, seals in central West Greenland mainly preyed upon amphipods (Parathemisto spp.), capelin (Mallotus villosus), redfish (Sebastes sp.) and squid (Gonatus sp.), while capelin was the most important prey item in Southwest Greenland. The material from Uummannaq demonstrates seasonal variations, as euphausiids were common in spring, and snailfish (Liparis spp.) dominated from October through January, where after snailfish disappeared with the formation of fast ice. No age related differences in the diet were found in stomach samples from Avanersuaq, but in Upemavik crustaceans were more abundant in stomach samples from younger immature seals. Greenland halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides) was only present in samples from seals older than 4 years. In Upemavik Arctic cod was the dominant prey item for seals caught in May at the ice
edge, whereas polar cod dominated the samples from seals caught in open water.

Downloads

Published

1998-06-12

How to Cite

Siegstad, H., Neve, P. B., Heide-Jørgensen, M. P., & Härkönen, T. (1998). Diet of the ringed seal (<i>Phoca hispida</i>) in Greenland. NAMMCO Scientific Publications, 1, 229–241. https://doi.org/10.7557/3.2991

Download Citation

Issue

Vol. 1: Ringed Seals in the North Atlantic

Section

Articles

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).