Multi-approach analysis to assess diet of harbour porpoises Phocoena phocoena in the southern North Sea
| Type | Article | ||||||||||||
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| Date | 2017-01 | ||||||||||||
| Language | English | ||||||||||||
| Author(s) | Mahfouz Celine1, Meziane Tarik2, Henry Francoise3, 4, 5, Abi-Ghanem Carine1, 6, Spitz Jerome7, Jauniaux Thierry8, 9, Bouveroux Thibaut10, 11, Khalaf Gaby1, Amara Rachid3, 4, 5 | ||||||||||||
| Affiliation(s) | 1 : CNRS, Natl Ctr Marine Sci, POB 534, Batroun, Lebanon. 2 : Univ Caen Basse Normandie, Univ Pierre & Marie Curie, Unite Mixte Rech Biol Organismes & Ecosyst Aquat, Sorbonne Univ,Museum Natl Hist Nat,CNRS,IRD,CP53, 61 Rue Buffon, F-75005 Paris, France. 3 : Univ Lille Nord France, F-59650 Villeneuve Dascq, France. 4 : Univ Littoral, Lab Oceanol & Geosci, F-62930 Wimereux, France. 5 : CNRS, UMR 8187, F-62930 Wimereux, France. 6 : Univ Libanaise, Fac Sci 3, Tripoli, Lebanon. 7 : Univ La Rochelle, Observ PELAGIS Syst Observat Conservat Mammiferes, CNRS, UMS 3462, F-17000 La Rochelle, France. 8 : Univ Liege, Dept Pathol Fundamental & Appl Res Anim & Hlth FA, Fac Vet Med, B43, B-4000 Liege, Belgium. 9 : Royal Belgian Inst Natl Sci, Operat Directorate Nat Environm, Gulledelle 100, B-1200 Brussels, Belgium. 10 : Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Univ, Coastal & Marine Res Inst, POB 77000, Port Elizabeth, South Africa. 11 : OCEAMM, F-59123 Zuydcoote, France. |
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| Source | Marine Ecology Progress Series (0171-8630) (Inter-research), 2017-01 , Vol. 563 , P. 249-259 | ||||||||||||
| DOI | 10.3354/meps11952 | ||||||||||||
| WOS© Times Cited | 6 | ||||||||||||
| Keyword(s) | Harbour porpoises, North Sea, Distribution, Foraging ecology, Stomach contents, Stable isotopes, Fatty acids | ||||||||||||
| Abstract | Over the past decade, the distribution of harbour porpoises Phocoena phocoena has undergone a southward shift in the North Sea, which has led to an increase in the number of stranded porpoises in its southern part. Since the changes in distribution and relative abundance of porpoises may be linked to the changes in prey availability, the aim of the present work was to investigate whether any changes in the feeding habits of harbour porpoises along the North Sea occurred in the past decade. The diet of harbour porpoises stranded along the southern North Sea (northern France and Belgian coast) was assessed through 3 complementary methods: stomach content analysis, stable isotopes (carbon and nitrogen) analysis determined from muscle samples, and fatty acids analysis determined from blubber samples. Fatty acid patterns and stable isotope values from 52 porpoises were compared to 14 potential prey species collected from the southern North Sea. Our results showed that the diet of porpoises along the southern North Sea comprises fish species that are among the most abundant and widely distributed in the area, except for the sardine Sardina pilchardus that appeared to be a new potential prey. Moreover, our results suggested that the decline in sandeel (Ammodytidae) in the northern parts of the North Sea along with the re-invasion of the southern North Sea by sardine species might affect the distribution of harbour porpoises. | ||||||||||||
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