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Stomach Content Analysis Of Stranded Bottlenose Dolphins, Tursiops Truncatus, In Virginia, 1987-1996, John Mcgurk
Stomach Content Analysis Of Stranded Bottlenose Dolphins, Tursiops Truncatus, In Virginia, 1987-1996, John Mcgurk
Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations
I examined the stomach contents from 94 bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, that were stranded along the Virginia coastline from 1987 through 1996. Samples from 1987 through 1991 were obtained from the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) and samples from 1992 through 1996 were collected by the Virginia Marine Science Museum (VMSM) Stranding Team. Prey species were identified using fish otoliths and cephalopod beaks.
The dolphins examined fed on 23 species of fish and one genus of cephalopods. The primary prey species was Atlantic croaker (Micropogonias undulatus); secondary species were weakfish (Cynoscion regalia), spot (Leiostomus xanthurus), silver perch (Bairdiella chrysoura), …