The diet of Antarctic petrels, cape petrels and southern fulmars rearing chicks in Prydz Bay

The breeding season diet of the three surface-nesting petrel species on the Rauer Islands, Prydz Bay were examined. The stomach contents of cape petrel (Daption capense), Antarctic petrel (Thalassoica antarctica), and southern fulmar (Fulmarus glacialoides) were sampled by collecting regurgitates and by stomach flushing during the 1987/88 early chick-rearing period. Pleuragrammaantarcticum and Euphausia superba dominated the diets of all species. By mass they constituted 78% and 22% of Antarctic petrel diet, 63% and 36% of southern fulmar diet and 14% and 85% of cape petrel diet respectively. P. antarcticum increased in importance in the diet of Antarctic petrels during the course of the study, while E. superba became increasingly important in the diets of southern fulmars and cape petrels. Previous studies conducted during incubation consistently reported the diets as comprising chiefly cephalopods and euphausiids, whilst studies during chick-rearing have reported fish and euphausiids dominating, and very little cephalopod matprial. © 1991, Antarctic Science Ltd. All rights reserved.