10.5061/DRYAD.G3MH0
Veen, J.
1Veda Consultancy, Wieselseweg 110, 7345 CC Wenum-Wiesel, The Netherlands;
Veen, Thor
University of British Columbia
Overdijk, O.
2Natuurmonumenten, Knuppeldam 4, 9166 NZ Schiermonnikoog, The Netherlands;
Data from: The diet of an endemic subspecies of the Eurasian Spoonbill
Platalea leucorodia balsaci, breeding at the Banc d’Arguin, Mauritania
Dryad
dataset
2013
1998 - 2010
spoonbill
Platalea leucorodia balsaci
otoliths
2013-02-22T17:51:32Z
2013-02-22T17:51:32Z
en
https://doi.org/10.5253/078.100.0203
3709 bytes
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CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
In the period 1998–2010 the endemic subspecies of the Eurasian Spoonbill
Platalea leucorodia balsaci breeding in Mauritania has decreased in
numbers considerably. The causes for this decline are unknown. This study
aimed to investigate the diet of the species. We analysed faecal material
collected in the breeding colonies in 8 different years. The results show
that Mauritanian Spoonbills almost exclusively eat shrimp (59.7%) and
small fish (35.4%), the latter being dominated by Gobiidae (20.8%),
Soleidae (4.8%) and Mugilidae (2.8%). Another 10 fish families were
represented in small proportions. Shrimp were quantified on the basis of
(parts of) mandibles present in the samples. All prey items eaten by the
Spoonbills were extremely small. Diet composition of adult birds and
chicks appeared to be similar. There was great variation in diet
composition of adults between years, but there was no trend in any of the
major diet components over the study period. This indicates that the
decline of the Spoonbill population is not correlated with changes in food
composition. Our diet study has been of a qualitative nature. Considering
the dramatic population decline we plea for a more detailed ecological
study of the species, including a quantitative approach of food intake and
foraging conditions.
1Spoonbill_adult_chick_dietFile containing diet composition of Spoonbill
adults and chicks extracted from faecal
material.2Spoonbill_diet_multiple_yearsDiet composition of Spoonbills
extracted from faecal material collected in the period 1998-2010.
Mauritania
Parc National du Banc d’ Arguin