Foraging Behaviour Of Minke Whales (Baiaenoptera Acutorostrata) In The Southern Barents Sea

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Stomach content samples from 23 minke whales Balaenoptera acutorostrata, caught during the Norwegian commercial whaling in the period May-June 1999, were collected in two areas in the southern Barents Sea. Simultaneously, a comprehensive resource survey was conducted in order to identify and estimate the abundance of potential prey items for the whales in the same sub-areas. The small-scale resource surveys revealed significant variations in absolute and relative prey abundance both between areas and, temporally, within areas. This was, to some extent, also reflected in the whale diets, which was particularly dominated by herring Clupea harengus and capelin villosus. Both these prey items were subjected to population specialization, i.e., they were taken frequently by many whales. Using the obtained data on diet and prey abundance to assess quantitatively possible prey selectivity of the minke whales in the area, it appears that capelin was preferred over all other prey items.