Page 1 - Bundone_alii_2015
P. 1

Insights0on0the0foraging0ecology0of0the00                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            ECO?010













                                                                                                                                            Mediterranean0monk0seal0




                                                                                                                                                                                                                !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!







                                                                Luigi!Bundone,!Gema!HernandezSMilian,!Jasna!Antolovic,!Emanuele!Coppola,!Sanja!Zalac,!Emanuela!Molinaroli!



















                                                                                                                                                                                             Introduc)on!










                                                                                                                                                                                             The!monk!seal!(Monachus)monachus)!is!one!of!the!most!endangered!marine!!




                                                                                                                                                                                             mammal!of!the!world!with!a!popula8on!es8mated!to!consist!of!~250/300!!





                                                                                                                                                                                             individuals!in!the!Mediterranean!(GFCM,!2011).!The!species!has!been!





                                                                                                                                                                                             considered!ex8nct!along!most!of!its!former!range!in!the!Central!and!Western!




                                                                                                                                                                                             Mediterranean!(ibid)!Sfig.1S!;!despite!this!fact!scats!samples!were!collected!in!





                                                                                                                                                                                             two!loca8ons,!ac8vely!used!by!some!specimens,!in!the!Northern!Adria8c!and!




                                                                                                                                                                                             Central!Tyrrhenian!Sea!Sfig.2S.!!





                                                                                                                                         In!this!work!we!present!the!first!dietary!study!on!Mediterranean!!




                                                                                                                                         monk!seals!using!scat!samples.!





                                                                                                                                         Materials0and0Methods!











                                                                                                                                         Monk!seal!faecal!samples!were!collected!from!2011!to!2013;!four!!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             ©0Jasna0Antolovic0




                                                                                                                                         samples!were!collected!from!a!cave!in!Favignana!Egadi!Islands,!Sicily!





                                                                                                                                         SItaly),!the!cave!is!connected!to!the!sea!by!a!~20!m!long!submerged!!




                                                                                                                                         siphon!with!an!internal!room!not!directly!affected!by!the!wave's!!





                                                                                                                                         ac8ons.!Other!four!were!collected!from!a!cave!at!the!southern!8p!of!!




                                                                                                                                         the!Kamenjak!Peninsula!(Premantura,!IstriaSCroa8a).!The!cave!was!equipped!with!a!video!





                                                                                                                                        monitoring!system!(IPVivotek,!provided!by!CEMul8media)!for!the!surveillance!of!the!internal!





                                                                                                                                        beach!(Bundone!et)al.,!2013)!allowing!a!fast!and!easy!collec8on!of!the!scats.!!The!samples!were!




                                                                                                                                        preserved!in!a!70%!!ethanol!solu8on;!remains!were!cleaned!and!iden8fied!using!the!fishbone!!





                                                                                         photoSlibrary!reference!collec8on!from!the!University!of!Aberdeen!(Scotland,!UK).!





                                                                                          Results!                                                                                                                                                                       Prey0Item0                                                                                FO0                          FO%0                           N0                          N%0
                                                                                ©0CEMul)media/GFM0









                                                                                          A!total!of!(14)!fish!prey!items!were!iden8fied!!                                                                                                                                 Perciformes!                                                                              2!                           28.6!                          2!                          14.3!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         !!!!!!!!!Oblada)melanura)

                                                                                          using!different!bones!and!scales!(Table!1).!The!                                                                                                                                !!!!!!!!)Mullus)surmuletus)                                                               1!                           14.3!                          1!                          7.1!





                                                                                          main!fish!group!iden8fied!was!Perciformes!!





                                                                                          (57.1!N%)!,!of!which!62.5!N%!was!composed!by!!                                                                                                                                 !!!!!!!!!Uniden8fied!Sparid!                                                               2!                           28.6!                          2!                          14.3!




                                                                                          Sparids.!Due!to!the!high!diges8on!degree!of!all!!                                                                                                                              !!!!!!!!!Sphyraena!spp.!                                                                  1!                           14.3!                          1!                          7.1!





                                                                                          structures!recovered,!we!were!only!able!to!!                                                                                                                                   Uniden8fied!Perciformes! 2!                                                                                             28.6!                          2!                          14.3!





                                                                                          iden8fy!saddled!seabream!(Oblada)melanura)!                                                                                                                                    Unknown!Fish!                                                                             5!                           71.4!                          6!                          42.9!




                                                                                         and!surmullet!(Mullus)surmuletus).!A!vertebra!!                                                                                                                                 Seaweed*!                                                                                 2*!





       was!classified!as!belonging!to!Sphyraena!spp.!Other!remains!items!!                                                                                                                                                                                                Unknown!crab!molt**!                                                                      1**!




       were!considered!to!be!related!to!the!sampling!area.!                                                                                                                                                                                                              Sea!urchins!spines**!                                                                     1**!





                                                                                                       Conclusions!                                                                                                                                                      Snails**!                                                                                 1**!                                                                                    14!




                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   7!
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Total!
                                                                                             ©0CEMul)media/GFM0


                                                                                                       Up!to!date,!diet!studies!using!scat!analysis!!                                                                                                                    Table01.!Prey!species!iden8fied!from!monk!seal!scats!collected!in!caves!





                                                                                                       were!unsuccessful!due!to!the!difficulty!of!!                                                                                                                        in!Italy!and!Croa8a!(N=7).!Each!prey!are!shown!as!percentage!





                                                                                                       collec8ng!samples!(Pierce!et!al.,!2011)!and!!                                                                                                                     frequency!of!occurrence!(%FO),!percentage!importance!by!number!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         (%N).!!

                                                                                                       the!strong!diges8on!degree!of!the!remains.!!                                                                                                                      •  Probably!occasional!diet!items,!not!included!in!the!analysis!!





                                                                                                       Considering!the!rarity!of!the!species!and!!                                                                                                                       **!Probably!not!diet!items,!not!included!in!the!analysis!!!




                                                                                                       the!lack!of!knowledge!on!the!trophic!ecology!of!this!endangered!marine!mammal,!we!outline!the!





                                                                                                       importance!of!applying!non!invasive!technique!and!the!relevance!of!communica8ng!these!results.!This!




                                                                                                       methodology!provides!a!small!snapshot!of!the!diet!of!this!endangered!pinniped!in!the!Mediterranean!!





       sea.!Moreover!the!use!of!other!analy8cal!techniques,!such!as!gene8c!analysis!of!the!scat!remains!(Deagle!et!al.,!2005),!will!provide!





       more!thorough!informa8on,!as!well!as!confirma8on!of!prey!remains!difficult!to!iden8fy.!




       !





       !





       !




       0






       0


                References!


       Bundone,!L.!Antolovic,!J.!Coppola,!E.!Zalac,!S.!Hervat,!M.!Antolovic,!N.!Molinaroli,!E.!2013.!Habitat!use,!movement!and!sigh8ngs!of!monk!seals!in!Croa8a!between!2010!and!2012S2013.!Rapp.!Comm.!int.!Mer.!Médit.,!


              40:!608!


       Deagle,!B.E.!Tollit,!D.J.!Jarman,!S.N.!Hindell,!M.A.!Trites,!A.W.!Gales,!N.J.!2005.!Molecular!scatology!as!a!tool!to!study!diet:!analysis!of!prey!DNA!in!scats!from!cap8ve!Steller!sea!lions.!Molecular!Ecology,!14(6):!


              1831S1842!


       GFCM.!2011.!Dral!summary!of!informa8on!on!monk!seals!in!the!Mediterranean!and!Black!Sea.!FAO,!General!Fisheries!Commission!for!the!Mediterranean.!ThirtySFilh!Session.!Rome,!Italy!9S14!May!2011:!1S10!


       Pierce,!G.J.!HernandezSMilian,!G.!Santos,!B.M.!Edridge,!A.!Dendrinos,!P.!Psaradelli.!M.!Tounta,!E.!Androukaki,!E.!Edridge,!A.!2011.!Diet!of!the!monk!seals!(Monachus)monachus)!in!greek!waters.!Aqua8c!Mammals,!


              37(3):!284S297!


                       !
   1