Feeding by grey seals on endangered stocks of Atlantic cod and white hake

ICES Journal of Marine Science

Volumn 71, Issue 6, 2014, Pages 1332-1341

  Hammill, M O ^a   Stenson, G B ^b   Swain, D P ^c   Benoit H P ^c  

^a FISHERIES AND OCEANS CANADA   (Canada)

^b NORTHWEST ATLANTIC FISHERIES CENTRE   (Canada)

^c GULF FISHERIES CENTRE   (Canada)

Author keywords

Atlantic cod; Diet; Gadoid; Grey seal; Predation; White hake

Indexed keywords

ENDANGERED SPECIES; FORAGING BEHAVIOR; MORTALITY; OVERWINTERING; PINNIPED; PREDATION; STOCK ASSESSMENT;

ATLANTIC OCEAN; CABOT STRAIT; CANADA; CAPE BRETON ISLAND; GULF OF SAINT LAWRENCE; NOVA SCOTIA;

GADIFORMES; GADUS MORHUA; HALICHOERUS GRYPUS; REXEA SOLANDRI; UROPHYCIS TENUIS;

EID: 84921905642     PISSN: 10543139     EISSN: 10959289     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1093/icesjms/fsu123     Document Type: Conference Paper

References (48)

1. Agresti, A. 2007. An introduction to categorical data analysis. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, NJ, USA.
2. Beck, C. A., Bowen, W. D., and Iverson, S. J. 2003. Sex differences in the seasonal patterns of energy storage and expenditure in a phocid seal. Journal of Animal Ecology, 72: 280-291.
3. Beck, C. A., Iverson, S. J., Bowen, W. D., and Blanchard, W. 2007. Sex differences in grey seal diet reflect seasonal variation in foraging behaviour and reproductive expenditure: evidence from quantitative fatty acid signature analysis. Journal of Animal Ecology, 76: 490-502.
4. Benoît, D., and Bowen, W. D. 1990. Summer diet of grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) at Anticosti Island, Gulf of St Lawrence, Canada. Canadian Bulletin of Fisheries Aquatic Science, 222: 227-242.
5. Benoît, H. P., and Swain, D. P. 2008. Impacts of environmental change and direct and indirect harvesting effects on the dynamics of a marine fish community. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science, 65: 2088-2104.
6. Benoît, H. P., Swain, D. P., Bowen, W. D., Breed, G. A., Hammill, M. O., and Harvey, V. 2011. Can predation by grey seals explain elevated natural mortality in three fish species in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence? Marine Ecology Progress Series, 442: 149-167.
7. Bowen, W. D. 2000. Reconstruction of pinniped diets: accounting for complete digestion of otoliths and cephalopod beaks. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science, 57: 898-905.
8. Bowen, W. D., and Harrison, G. D. 1994. Offshore diet of grey seals Halichoerus grypus near Sable Island, Canada. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 112: 1-11.
9. Bowen, W. D., and Iverson, S. J. 2013. Methods of estimating marine mammal diets: A review of validation experiments and sources of bias and uncertainty. Marine Mammal Science, 29: 719-754.
10. Bowen, W. D., Lawson, J. W., and Beck, B. 1993. Seasonal and geographic variation in the species composition and size of prey consumed by grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) on the Scotian Shelf. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science, 50: 1768-1778.
11. Breed, G. A., Bowen, W. D., McMillan, J. I., and Leonard, M. L. 2006. Sexual segregation of seasonal foraging habitats in a non-migratory marine mammal. Proceedings of the Royal Society. (B), 273: 2319-2326.
12. Bundy, A., Heymans, J. J., Morissette, L., and Savenkoff, C. 2009. Seals, cod and forage fish: a comparative exploration of variations in the theme of stock collapse and ecosystem change in four Northwest Atlantic ecosystems. Progress in Oceanography. 81: 188-206.
13. Campana, S. E. 2004. Photographic Atlas of Fish Otoliths of the Northwest Atlantic Ocean. NRC Press, Ottawa, ON.
14. Chouinard, G. A., Swain, D. P., Hammill, M. O., and Poirier, G. A. 2005. Correspondence between changes in grey seal population abundance and variation in natural mortality of southern Gulf of St. Lawrence cod. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science, 62: 1991-2000.
15. Clarke, M. R. (ed.) 1986. A handbook for the identification of cephalopod beaks. Clarendon Press, Oxford. 273 pp.
16. Clay, D. 1991. Seasonal distribution of demersal fish (Osteichthyes) and skates (Chondrichthyes) in the southeastern Gulf of St. Lawrence. Canadian Special Publication of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 113: 241-259.
17. Comeau, L. A., Campana, S. E., and Chouinard, G. A. 2002. Timing of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L.) seasonal migrations in the southern Gulf of St Lawrence: interannual variability and proximate control. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 59: 333-351.
18. Darbyson, E., and Benoît, H. P. 2003. An atlas of the seasonal distribution of marine fish and invertebrates in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. Canadian Data Report Fisheries and Aquatic Science, 1113: 294 pp.
19. Dutil, J-D., Lambert, Y., and Chabot, D. 2003. Winter and spring changes in condition factor and energy reserves of wild cod compared with changes observed during food-deprivation in the laboratory. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 60: 780-786.
20. Grellier, K., and Hammond, P. S. 2006. Robust digestion and passage rate estimates for hard parts of grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) prey. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science, 63: 1982-1998.
21. Hammill, M. O., Lesage, V., and Carter, P. 2005. Problems associated with determining diet composition in harp seals by reconstruction of stomach contents or faecal samples. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 83:1365-1372.
22. Hammill, M. O., Gosselin, J. F., and Stenson, G. B. 2007a. Abundance of Northwest Atlantic grey seals in Canadian waters. NAMMCO Scientific Publication, 6: 99-115.
23. Hammill, M. O., Stenson, G. B., Proust, F., Carter, P., and McKinnon, D. 2007b. Feeding by grey seals in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and around Newfoundland. In Grey seals in the North Atlantic and the Baltic, pp. 135-152. Ed. by T. Haug, M. Hammill, and D. Olafsdottir. NAMMCO Scientific Publication 6. 227 pp.
24. Härkönen, T. 1986. Guide to the otoliths of the bony fishes of the northeast Atlantic. Danbiu Aps, Sweden. 256 pp.
25. Harvey, V., Cô té, S. D., and Hammill, M. O. 2008. The ecology of 3-D space use in a sexually dimorphic mammal. Ecography, 31: 371-380.
26. Harvey, V., Hammill, M. O., Swain, D. P., Breed, G. A., Lydersen, C., and Kovacs, K. M. 2012. Winter foraging by a top predator, the grey seal Halichoerus grypus, in relation to the distribution of prey. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 462: 273-286.
27. Harwood, J. 1992. Assessing the competitive effects of marine mammal predation on commercial fisheries. South Africa Journal of Marine Science, 12: 689-693.
28. Harwood, J., and Croxall, J. P. 1988. The assessment of competition between seals and commercial fisheries in the North Sea and Antarctic. Marine Mammal Science, 4: 13-33.
29. Iverson, S. J., Field, C., Bowen, W. D., and Blanchard, W. 2004. Quantitative fatty acid signature analysis: a new method of estimating predator diets. Ecological Monographs, 74: 211-235.
30. Lawson, J. W., Stenson, G. B., and McKinnon, D. G. 1995. Diet of harp seals (Phoca groenlandica) in nearshore waters of the northwest Atlantic during 1990-1993. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 73: 1805-1818.
31. Lundström, K., Hjerne, O., Alexandersson, K., and Karlsson, O. 2007. Estimation of grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) diet composition in the Baltic Sea. In Grey seals in the North Atlantic and the Baltic, pp. 177-196. Ed. by T. Haug, M. Hammill, and D. Olafsdottir. NAMMCO Scientific Publication 6. 227 pp.
32. Lundström, K., Hjerne, O., Lunneryd, S-G., and Karlsson, O. 2010. Understanding the diet composition of marine mammals: grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) in the Baltic Sea. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 67: 1230-1239.
33. Matthiopoulos, J., Smout, S., Winship, A. J., Thompson, D., Boyd, I. L., and Harwood, J. 2008. Getting beneath the surface of marine mammal-fisheries competition. Mammalian Reviews 2008, 38: 167-188.
34. Murie, D. J., and Lavigne, D. M. 1986. Interpretation of otoliths in stomach content analysis of phocid seals: quantifying fish consumption. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 64: 1152-1157.
35. Myers, R. A., Hutchings, J. A., and Barrowman, N. J. 1997. Why do fish stocks collapse? The example of cod in Atlantic Canada. Ecological Applications, 7: 91-106.
36. O'Boyle, R., and Sinclair, M. 2012. Seal-cod interactions on the eastern Scotian shelf: Reconsideration of modeling assumptions. Fisheries Research, 115-116: 1-13.
37. Rosen, D. A. S., and Tollit, D. J. 2012. Effects of phylogeny and prey type on fatty acid calibration coefficients in three pinniped species: implications for the QFASA dietary quantification technique. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 467: 263-276.
38. Shelton, P. A., Sinclair, A. F. G., Chouinard, G. A., Mohn, R., and Duplisea, D. 2006. Fishing under low productivity conditions is further delaying recovery of Northwest Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua). Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science, 63: 235-238.
39. Sinclair, A., and Currie, L. 1994. Timing of cod migrations into and out of the Gulf of St. Lawrence based on commercial fisheries, 1986-93. Department of Fisheries and Oceans Atlantic Fisheries. Research. Document 94/47.
40. Sinclair, A. F., and Murawski, S. A. 1997. Why have groundfish stocks declined? In Northwest Atlantic groundfish: perspectives on a fishery collapse, pp. 71-93. Ed. by J. Boreman, B. S. Nakashima, J. A. Wilson, and R. L. Kendall. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, MD.
41. Swain, D. P., and Chouinard, G. A. 2008. Predicted extirpation of the dominant demersal fish in a large marine ecosystem: Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science, 65: 2315-2319.
42. Swain, D. P., Chouinard, G. A., Morin, R., and Drinkwater, K. F. 1998. Seasonal variation in the habitat associations of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and American plaice (Hippoglossoides platessoides) from the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science, 55: 2548-2561.
43. Swain, D. P., Frank, K. T., and Maillet, G. 2001. Delineating stocks of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Cabot Strait areas using vertebral number. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 58: 253-269.
44. Swain, D. P., Hurlbut, T. R., and Benoît, H. P. 2012b. Pre-COSEWIC review of variation in the abundance, distribution and productivity of white hake (Urophycis tenuis) in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, 1971-2010.)). Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat Research Document 2012/066. 77 pp. Available at: http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas-sccs/index-eng.htm.
45. Swain, D. P., Savoie, L., and Aubry, E. 2012a. Recovery potential assessment for the Laurentian south designatable unit of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua): the southern Gulf of St Lawrence cod stock (NAFO Div. 4T-4Vn (Nov-Apr)). Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat Research Document. 2012/052. 54 pp. Available at: http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas-sccs/index-eng.htm.
46. Tollit, D. J., Heaslip, S. G., Barrick, R. L., and Trites, A. W. 2007. Impact of diet-index selection and the digestion of prey hard remains on determining the diet of the Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus). Canadian Journal of Zoology, 85: 1-15.
47. Tollit, D. J., Steward, M. J., Thompson, P. M., Pierce, G. J., Santos, M. B., and Hughes, S. 1997. Species and size differences in the digestion of otoliths and beaks: implications for estimates of pinniped diet composition. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science, 54: 105-119.
48. Tollit, D. J., Wong, M., Winship, A. J., Rosen, D. A. S., and Trites, A. W. 2003. Quantifying errors associated with using prey skeletal structures from fecal samples to determine the diet of Steller's sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus). Marine Mammal Science, 19: 724-744.