Food of striped dolphin, Stenella coeruleoalba, in the Ligurian Sea

Abstract

The stomachsof 23 striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba Meyen, 1833, Cetacea), stranded along the Ligurian coast (western Mediterranean Sea), contained 32 species of cephalopods, crustaceans and fishes, totalling an estimated 2,723 prey specimens representing about 36 kg in weight. Cephalopods and bony fishes were equally important in the diet (50%).Todarodes sagittatus (34-5%) and Micromesistius poutassou (25-9%) were found to be the most important food species . Other species belonging to six cephalopod families, three crustacean families and nine bony fish families, contributed to the diet with variable numbers, weights, and occurrences, demonstrating the opportunistic character of striped dolphin feeding.

Toothed whales in the northwestern Mediterranean: Insight into their feeding ecology using chemical tracers

“…In comparison with other species analyzed by Capelli et al (2008), toothed whales seem to present trophic levels superior to the two fin whales Balaenoptera physalus (d 15 N = 8.3‰ and 9.3‰) and the three striped dolphins Stenella coeruleoalba (d 15 N from 8.9‰ to 9.5‰), similar to one Cuvier's beaked whale (d 15 N = 10.6‰) and inferior to two bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus (d 15 N = 12.6 and 13.5‰). Such results are in accordance with previous stomach content analyses (Blanco and Raga, 2000;Orsi Relini and Giordano, 1992;Würtz and Marrale, 1993). In the Strait of Gibraltar (connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean), pilot whales showed higher d 15 N and d…”

How does ocean seasonality drive habitat preferences of highly mobile top predators? Part I: The north-western Mediterranean Sea

“…Those optimum conditions were met in the Tyrrhenian Sea, along the lower slope of the western Sardinia/Corsica margin and the south Balearic Islands. These areas of high density were consistent with the habitats of the known forage species, such as blue whiting Micromesistius poutassou for example [31].…”

Tuna and Dolphin Associations in the North-east Atlantic: Evidence of Different Ecological Niches from Stable Isotope and Heavy Metal Measurements

“…However, the common dolphin samples included all the ®sh species found in the diet of the albacore whereas only one species of prey was found in both striped dolphin and tuna stomachs. Each species seems to have preferential preys but it has been demonstrated that striped and common dolphins are quite opportunistic feeders and can take advantage of seasonally or locally abundant preys (Wurtz and Marrale, 1993;Blanco et al, 1995;Young and Cockroft, 1995). For example, in the Northwest Atlantic, the diet of common dolphins consists mainly of longer sized ®sh as capelins (Mallotus villosus) and mackerels (Scomber scombrus) (Overholtz and Waring, 1991;Ostrom et al, 1993).…”