Stomach content analysis
The benefits
In short- Analysis of litter in sea birds
- Studying fish stomachs for food web research
- Dietary studies for marine mammals
The stomach contents of different species of birds, fish and marine mammals can be analysed at Wageningen Marine Research.
Northern fulmars
Large quantities of waste are still being dumped in the North Sea. Northern fulmars, birds that look superficially like gulls, interpret small pieces of litter as food; they consume the litter, but cannot digest it. The stomach contents of dead birds are therefore analysed by us to determine the composition and quantity of this floating waste. This provides an indicator for the quantity of floating waste on the North Sea.
Fish
The most direct way to study a food web is to examine what an organism eats. A fish stomach may contain plankton, other fish or benthic animals. We study stomach contents of fish from commercially important species in the North Sea as well as non-commercial species, because knowledge about these species is often lacking.
Marine mammals
Wageningen Marine Research and cooperating institutes conduct stomach contents research on beached harbour porpoises and other marine mammals to determine the diet of these animals. The diet research is based on otoliths, fatty acids, isotopes and the remains of prey animals.
Get in touch with our expert
Questions about our stomach content analysis? Contact our expert.
Dr.rer.nat. E (Eileen) Heße
Research Scientist - Marine ecologist
