Skip Navigation


Bioscience Horizons Advance Access originally published online on April 23, 2008
Bioscience Horizons 2008 1(2):143-147; doi:10.1093/biohorizons/hzn018
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrowOA All Versions of this Article:
1/2/143    most recent
hzn018v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by de la Hey, D. C.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by de la Hey, D. C.
Related Collections
Right arrow Animal Science
Right arrow Ecology
Right arrow Environmental Biology
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© 2008 The Author(s)
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/uk/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

The importance of birds in the diet of otter Lutra lutra on Shapwick Heath

Daniel Charles de la Hey*

School of Science and the Environment, Bath Spa University, Newton Park Campus, Newton St. Loe, Bath, BA2 9BN, UK

* Corresponding author: Tel: +44 (0)7736674370. Email: danny_delahey{at}yahoo.co.uk

Supervisor: Mr G. M. Smith, School of Science and the Environment, Bath Spa University, Newton Park Campus, Newton St. Loe, Bath, BA2 9BN, UK.


  Abstract

This study investigates the importance of avian species in the diet of Shapwick Heath's otter population. The frequency occurrence of prey items was recorded from spraints collected between July 2006 and January 2007. Bird feathers extracted from otter spraints were investigated under a microscope. Where possible, feathers were identified to species level. The presence of fish scales in spraints was recorded, but not quantified. Bird feathers were recorded in 41% of all spraints, compared with 4.6% on Slapton Ley in 1981 and 4.7% on the Somerset Levels in 1975. The highest proportion of bird feathers was recorded in July 2006, at 61%. Ralliformes were more frequently recorded than any other family of birds. Coot Fulica atra L. were more frequently recorded then any other species; 15 spraints were found to contain coot feathers. Mallard Anas platyrhynchos feathers were recorded in six spraints. Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo feathers were found in three spraints and Water rail Rallus aquaticus feathers were found in two spraints. Pintail Anas acuta, teal Anas creca, moorhen Gallinula chloropus and little grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis feathers were found in one spraint each. Two spraints contained feathers from both mallard and coot, respectively. The high proportion of birds in the otter's diet, in comparison with past studies suggests that otters are substituting birds for part of their traditional diet of fish. It is recommended that studies into the nature of the fish stock and the development of the aquatic ecosystem on Shapwick Heath be undertaken.

Key words: Lutra lutra, Shapwick Heath, diet, ralliformes, spraint, feather

Submitted on 1 October 2007; accepted on 28 January 2008


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.