Stomach contents of a northern bottlenose whale (Hyperoodon ampullatus) stranded at Hiddensee, Baltic Sea.

Lick, Roland and Piatkowski, Uwe (1998) Stomach contents of a northern bottlenose whale (Hyperoodon ampullatus) stranded at Hiddensee, Baltic Sea. Journal of The Marine Biological Association of The United Kingdom, 78 . pp. 643-650. DOI 10.1017/S0025315400041679.

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Abstract

The stomach of a female northern bottlenose whale, Hyperoodon ampullatus (Odontoceti: Ziphiidae) stranded at Hiddensee Island, western Baltic Sea, on 23 August 1993 contained 7465 cephalopod beaks (4934 upper and 2531 lower). The lower beaks were identified, their rostrallengths were measured and used to estimate size and mass of the cephalopods consumed by the whale. Alllower beaks belonged to one species, the boreoatlantic gonate squid Gonatus fabricii (Cephalopoda: Teuthoidea) indicating a mean squid mantle length of 21·9 cm and a mean squid wet mass of 220·7 g. The total squid biomass in the whale's stomach represented by the lower beaks was 598·6 kg. Assuming that all upper beaks belong to G. fabricii, the squid biomass taken by the whale was estimated to be 1089 kg. Besides the beaks partly digested squid gladii, spermatophores
and 15 specimens of the fish parasite Sphyrion lumpi (Crustacea: Copepoda) occurred in the stomach. No fish remains were found.

Document Type: Article
Keywords: Stomach contents, northern bottlenose whale, Hperoodon ampullatus, Baltic Sea
Research affiliation: OceanRep > GEOMAR > FB3 Marine Ecology > FB3-EV Marine Evolutionary Ecology
Refereed: Yes
Open Access Journal?: No
Publisher: Cambridge Univ. Press
Projects: CephLit
Contribution Number:
Project
Number
CephLit
3289
Date Deposited: 18 Feb 2008 17:24
Last Modified: 22 Apr 2021 08:34
URI: https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/8065

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