Abstract
A method of using fish vertebrae in scats of otters and mink in order to estimate prey size is described. Significant positive correlations between fish fork length and length of abdominal and caudal vertebrae respectively were demonstrated and described for a series of reference fish of different species. Comparison of direct length measurements of fish fed to captive mink with length estimates obtained from vertebrae recovered in then scats and derived using the appropriate regression lines determined from the reference fish revealed a close measure of agreement and indicated that the method achieves a high level of accuracy. Use of vertebrae from scats for estimating fish length is considered to have several advantages over use of scales, and the method greatly extends the range, accuracy and value of the information that can be obtained from scat analysis.
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