STOMACH CONTENTS OF LONG-FINNED PILOT-WHALES (GLOBICEPHALA-MELAS) STRANDED ON THE US-MID-ATLANTIC-COAST

Ten prey taxa were recorded from the stomach contents of eight long-fi nned pilot whales (Globicephala melas) independently stranded along th e U.S. mid-Atlantic coast. Relative importance of prey species was det ermined by methods that incorporate prey frequencies of occurrence, pr oportions of numerical abundance, and proportions of reconstructed mas s. Separate analyses of trace (free, durable body parts representing w ell-digested prey items) and non-trace (relatively intact prey specime ns) food material were conducted in order to address biases caused by differential rates of digestion and passage through the gastrointestin al tract. Different measures of prey importance yielded varying result s, but the long-finned squid (Loligo pealei) was the most important pr ey species regardless of how prey importance was defined. Fishes were relatively unimportant in the diet. Our results indicate that the diet s of western North Atlantic long-finned pilot whales differ substantia lly from what has been previously reported in the literature and that results from food-habits studies that utilize different techniques may not be comparable.