R. Gales et D. Renouf, DETECTING AND MEASURING FOOD AND WATER-INTAKE IN CAPTIVE SEALS USING TEMPERATURE TELEMETRY, The Journal of wildlife management, 57(3), 1993, pp. 514-519
Methods of determining rates of feeding in marine endotherms are neede
d to assess impacts on marine resources. Thus, we investigated the use
of temperature telemetry to measure food and water intake in captive
harp seals (Phoca groenlandica) for possible application to free-rangi
ng marine endotherms. We obtained profiles of changes in stomach tempe
rature while the seals ingested ice, snow, seawater, and meals of fish
. Ingestion of any of the substances caused a precipitous drop in stom
ach temperature in every instance. The rate of recovery to stable temp
erature was related (r2 = 0.71, P = 0.001) to the mass of the meal ing
ested. The stomach temperature technique provides conclusive evidence
of fresh and seawater intake in harp seals and should enable detection
and measurement of food and water intake in a variety of species.