STOMACH CONTENT-ANALYSIS OF A DUGONG (DUGONG-DUGON) FROM SOUTH SULAWESI, INDONESIA

A quantitative analysis of the stomach contents of an individual femal e dugong (Dugong dugon) caught by fishermen in February 1991 in the co astal waters of South Sulawesi, Indonesia, is presented. Of the total dry weight of digesta (about 3.4 kg), 98.9% consisted of seagrass mate rial. Rhizome and root material of smaller pioneering genera (i.e. Hal ophila, Halodule, Cymodocea) accounted for 71.5% of the total dry weig ht. Enhalus acoroides dominated among leaf material (about 50%), but i ts contribution to the total biomass of the stomach contents was only 13.5%. Rhizome material of Enhalus and Thalassia was absent. The amoun t of sediment in the stomach was negligible. The results are compared with those from similar studies, and the implications for possible fee ding selectivity are discussed.