Prey Selection of Subadult Male Northern Fur Seals and Evidence of Dietary Niche Overlap with Adult Females During the Breeding Season

During the breeding season, northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus) congregate on the Pribilof Islands in large numbers creating the potential for intraspecific competition. Due to the declining trend in the Pribilof Islands population of fur seals, it is important to understand how prey resources are partitioned among the population. Fur seals exhibit a high degree of sexual dimorphism resulting in energetic differences among age and sex classes. Therefore, we hypothesized that subadult male and adult female fur seals would differ in the type and size of prey consumed. We examined the diets of subadult male and adult female seals on St. Paul Island from 1992 to 2000. Prey remains found in fecal samples were compared using niche overlap indices. There was nearly complete dietary niche overlap between subadult male and adult female fur seals. Walleye pollock, Pacific salmon, Pacific herring, and cephalopods were common prey items found in the diets of both groups. We found differences in the size of pollock consumed. We also found that geographic location of sample collection may be important in determining diet differences. Our results indicate high levels of dietary overlap among subadult male and adult female fur seals.

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Katherine A. Call and Rolf R. Ream. Published in Marine Mammal Science. 28(1):1-15.