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First record of killer whales (Orcinus orca) feeding on Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in northern Norway suggest a multi-prey feeding type

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 February 2013

Heike Vester  and
Kurt Hammerschmidt
Heike Vester*
Affiliation:
Cognitive Ethology Laboratory, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Am Fassberg 17 37077 Göttingen, Germany Ocean Sounds, Hjellskjaeret, 8312 Henningsvaer, Norway
Kurt Hammerschmidt
Affiliation:
Cognitive Ethology Laboratory, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: H. Vester, Ocean Sounds, Hjellskjaeret, 8312 Henningsvaer, Norway email: Info@ocean-sounds.com
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Abstract

Occurrence of killer whales in Norway is linked to the migration of the herring population with most sightings during wintertime. Here we describe the first record of North Atlantic killer whales feeding on Atlantic salmon inside a fjord in northern Norway during summertime, thus adding an important factor in understanding the feeding ecology of North Atlantic killer whales.

Keywords

North Atlantic killer whalesfeeding ecologyAtlantic salmon
Type
Research Article
Information
Marine Biodiversity Records , Volume 6 , 2013 , e9
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2013

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