Abstract
Data were collected from harp seal (Phoca groenlandica) and hooded seal (Cystophora cristata) pups belonging to the Greenland Sea (or "West Ice") stocks in 1995-1997. Pups of both species were observed to feed independently shortly after weaning, and their first food was almost exclusively crustaceans. Parathemisto sp., particularly P. libellula, dominated the diet of both the harp and the hooded seal pups, but the diet also contained sympagic amphipods of the genus Gammarus. Krill (Thysanoessa sp.) was of minor importance as food for seal pups in 1995, but occurred more frequentlyin the diet of both species in 1996 and 1997. Considerable niche overlap may suggest some interspecific competition between harp and hooded seal pups in the West Ice.
Highlights
Three stocks of harp seals (Phoca glVenlandica) inhabit the North Atlantic Ocean (Sergeant 1991)
One of the stocks is distributed in the Greenland and Norwegian Seas, breeding and moulting in the Greenland Sea pack-ice near Jan Mayen
The period is assumed to be considerably shorter for hooded seals, possibly within a range of 3-5 days, as observed for the species in the Northwest Atlantic (Bowen et al 1985, Kovacs and Lavigne 1992). Since both harp and hooded seals are present in the same areas of the West Ice through overlapping breeding seasons, pups of the two species commence independent feeding in a situation that might result in competition
Summary
Three stocks of harp seals (Phoca glVenlandica) inhabit the North Atlantic Ocean (Sergeant 1991). The period is assumed to be considerably shorter for hooded seals, possibly within a range of 3-5 days, as observed for the species in the Northwest Atlantic (Bowen et al 1985, Kovacs and Lavigne 1992). Since both harp and hooded seals are present in the same areas of the West Ice through overlapping breeding seasons, pups of the two species commence independent feeding in a situation that might result in competition. Adult harp seals have a diet that differs from that of hooded seals in the West Ice (Potelov et al this volume) It is, of interest to establish whether the same is true for the pups. The possible existence of niche overlap between the two species is evaluated
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