Content of harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) and grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) scats in prey classified by functional groups (samples collected in the baie de Somme, France, from 2002 to 2019)

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).

Disciplines

Biological oceanography

Keywords

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

Location

50.8655N, 49.8S, 1.7396E, 0.5W

Devices

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]

Data

FileSizeFormatProcessingAccess
Data
21 KoCSVQuality controlled data
Metadata
1 KoCSVQuality controlled data
How to cite
Planque Yann, Vincent Cécile, Caurant Florence, Spitz Jérôme (2020). Content of harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) and grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) scats in prey classified by functional groups (samples collected in the baie de Somme, France, from 2002 to 2019). SEANOE. https://doi.org/10.17882/76780

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