Abstract

This study assessed ontogenetic dietary changes in male South American fur seals Arctocephalus australis in northern and central Patagonia (Argentina) using stable isotope ratios (delta N-15 and delta C-13) in vibrissae and bones. Sucking pups were characterised by higher delta N-15 values and lower delta C-13 values than older specimens. Weaning was associated with a marked drop of delta N-15 values, both in bone and vibrissae. Such a drop was inconsistent with the consumption of local prey and may reveal movement to distant foraging grounds or physiological changes associated with either fasting or rapid growth. Stable isotope ratios indicated that juveniles fed more pelagically than subadults and adults, but that there were no major differences between the 2 latter age categories. As subadults and adults are rather similar in body mass and are much larger than juveniles, body mass may play a role in the ontogenetic dietary changes reported. Nevertheless, de mersal benthic prey were always scarce in the diet of male fur seals, which relied primarily on Argentine shortfin squid and small pelagic fish throughout life, though adults also consumed large amounts of decapod crustaceans available at shallow depths. Vibrissae did not reveal regular oscillations of delta N-15 or delta C-13, except in 1 individual. Thus, male fur seals from northern and central Patagonia do not appear to migrate regularly between isotopically distinct areas, although nomadic displacements cannot be ruled out.