DOI 10.17882/76780 Harbour (Phoca vitulina) and grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) scat samples were collected in the baie de Somme, France, from 2002 to 2019 to identify the diet of both species. Diet analysis followed a procedure usually used for pinnipeds (e.g. Ridoux et al. 2007, https://doi.org/10.1017/S002531540705463X; Spitz et al. 2015, https://doi.org/10.1051/alr/2015001). Scats were washed in order to analyse their content in diagnostic hard prey remains (e.g. fish otoliths, fish bones and cephalopod beaks), and therefore to identify prey species consumed by seals. Key measurements on fish otoliths or cephalopod beaks were used to estimate body mass and length of prey consumed by seals (use of allometric relationships), and ultimately reconstruct seals’ diet content in mass (g). The content of seal scats are presented here in six functional groups of prey (small benthic flatfish with relative length < 200 mm, large benthic flatfish with relative length ≥ 200 mm, benthic non-flatfish, demersal fish, pelagic fish and pelagic squids).
Biological oceanography
Foraging ecology, Trophic, Marine mammals, Pinnipeds, Diet, Scat content, Faeces, Hard remains, Diagnostic hard parts, Fish otolith, Cephalopod beak, Harbour seals, Grey seals, Eastern English Channel, baie de Somme
50.8655N, 49.8S, 1.7396E, 0.5W
Sample_type = Type of sample collected (here seal scat)
Num_collection = Sample ID
Species = Seal species that produced the scat. Pv = Harbour seal (Phoca vitulina); Hg = Grey seal (Halichoerus grypus). Assigned by DNA analysis, cf method in Spitz et al. (2015), https://doi.org/10.1051/alr/2015001
Collecting_site = Collecting site (here baie de Somme, France)
Date = Date the sample was collected in the field
Small_benthic_flatfish = Reconstructed mass (g) of small benthic flatfish (i.e. with relative length < 200 mm). It includes: Pleuronectes platessa, Platttichthys flesus, Solea solea, Pegusa lascaris, Buglossidium luteum, Microchirus variegatus, Und. Bothidea, Scophtalmus spp., Phrynorhombus norvegicus
Large_benthic_flatfish = Reconstructed mass (g) of large benthic flatfish (i.e. with relative length ≥ 200 mm). It includes: Pleuronectes platessa, Platttichthys flesus, Solea solea, Pegusa lascaris, Buglossidium luteum, Microchirus variegatus, Und. Bothidea, Scophtalmus spp., Phrynorhombus norvegicus
Benthic_non_flatfish = Reconstructed mass (g) of benthic non-flatfish. It includes: Und. Gobidae, Trachinus draco, Callionymus lyra, Und. Triglidae
Demersal_fish = Reconstructed mass (g) of demersal fish. It includes: Merlangius merlangus, Trisopterus spp., Gadus morhua, Pollachius spp., Melanogrammus aeglefinus, Und. Sandeels, Dicentrarchus labrax, Und. Mullets
Pelagic_fish = Reconstructed mass (g) of pelagic fish. It includes: Clupea harengus, Sardina pilchardus, Sprattus sprattus, Belone belone, Trachurus trachurus
Pelagic_squids = Reconstructed mass (g) of pelagic squids. It includes: Loligo spp.
[Und.: undetermined species]
Copy this text
