Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) Science Article 6
abstract
The diet of cormorants roosting at Malause on the Garonne River (South-West France) was studied by analyzing pellets collected during the winter 2001- 2002.This roost held a mean of 550 cormorants between October 2001 and March 2002,making it one of the most important winter roosts in France. The diet contained 14 fishspecies, including 10 cyprinids. Cyprinids were the most abundant prey, representing90 % of individual fish. Bream Abramis brama between 100 and 150 mm in lengthwere the most abundant food items, while large bream (> 300 mm total length) werealso consumed. The proportion of pellets containing bream increased from 26 % inOctober-November to 69% in February -March. There was no significant change inthe size of the bream over time. The next most abundant species was pikeperch Sanderlucioperca present in 15.4% of the pellets from December-January but only 2.6% in
Frederic Santoul, Jean-Baptiste Hougas, Andy J. Green2 and Sylvain Mastrorillo, Arch. Hydrobiol. 160 2 281-287