Seabirds as prey…
A few years ago I posted on the MARMAM listserv inquiring whether people had any sightings to share of incidental or targeted take of seabirds by marine mammals. The response was extremely interesting and insightful. There was a concurrent conversation on the Pacific Seabird Listserv discussing this same topic. People on that listserv were very interested and surprised to hear how often seabirds, considered by most to be “top predators”, ended up as prey for marine mammals. Discussions ranged from humpback whales incidentally ingesting seabirds while feeding on fish to killer whales targeting rafts of seabirds. The PSG listserv even ventured into stories of seabirds being taken by predatory fishes and there was even the odd story about a squid and also an octopus targeting unwary seabirds. Based on the interest on the topic generated on both listservs, we are trying to compile these anecdotes, as well as the limited published data, and document them in a manuscript. Once compiled, we can share these accounts with those who are interested. I would be grateful to hear more anecdotes for those who have them so please share your stories! Detailed accounts (location, date, photo, sample collected? etc.) are excellent but less detail oriented stories are also welcome as they often contain leads to more detailed accounts, and are just plain interesting! Thank you to those who have shared their notes and stories already! Cheers, Trevor Trevor Haynes School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences University of Alaska Fairbanks Fairbanks, AK 99775-7220 Phone: 907-474-2486 http://www.sfos.uaf.edu/people/profile.php?uid=2780
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