TABLE 2.
Prey remains identified from otter stomachs
| z | RFO/fish | RFO/all | FO (n) | Species names/ other taxonomic subgroupings identified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anguillidae | 18 | 13 | 20 (124) | Eel Anguilla anguilla |
| Cottidae | 23 | 16 | 26 (159) | Bullhead Cottus gobio |
| Cyprinid | 23 | 16 | 26 (160) | Minnow Phoxinus phoxinus (54), chub Leuciscus cephalus (12), roach Rutililus rutilus (11), dace Leuciscus leuciscus (4), carp Carassius spp.(3), tench Tinca tinca (2), barbel Barbus barbus (2), common bream Abramis brama (2), rudd Scardinius erythrophthalamus (1) |
| Salmonid | 22 | 16 | 25 (154) | Salmon Salmo salar (3), trout Salmo trutta (38) |
| Stickleback | 11 | 8 | 13 (80) | 3‐spined stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus (2) |
| Marine fish | 4 | 3 | 4 (27) | Goby (15) (family Gobiidae), flatfish (17: including dab Limanda limanda [1], Flounder Platichthys flesus [2], plaice Pleuronectes platessa [5], brill Scophthalmus rhombus [1]), four‐bearded rockling Enchelyopus cimbrius (5), mackerel (1), Family blennidae (4), wrasse (family Labridae, seven species found in UK waters) (3), sand eel (1) |
| Amphibian | NA | 15 | 24 (147) | Frog Rana temporaria (60), Toad Bufo spp (1), Newt Lissotriton spp (11) (in UK only L. vulgaris or L. helveticus) |
| Crustacean | NA | 3 | 5 (28) | Crayfish (16), crab (4), mollusk (9) (not identified to species) |
| Mammal | NA | 3 | 5 (32) | Common shrew Sorex araneus (2), water shrew Neomys fodiens (1), Sorex spp (4), rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus (3), wood mouse Apodemus sylvaticus (2) |
| Bird | NA | 3 | 5 (31) | Rallidae (includes water rail Rallus aquaticus, moorhen Gallinula chloropus) and coot Fulica atra (4), also Anseriforme spp (diverse family of waterfowl, including ducks, geese, swans) (3) |
| Insect | NA | 5 | 8 (47) | Diptera (true flies) (1), Dytiscus (diving beetle) (5), Odonata (includes dragonflies and damselflies) (3). |
| Other fish | Percidae (18), stone loach (Barbatula barbatula) (14) and pike (Esox lucius) (3) |
The 11 prey types represent species, or higher taxonomic ranks, as used in statistical analyses. RFO = relative frequency of occurrence (total occurrences of a particular prey type/total number of occurrences for all prey types, calculated both relative to the total occurrence of fish prey (n = 704, “/fish”), and to all prey (n = 989, “/all”). FO = frequency of occurrence (total occurrences of a particular prey type/total number of samples (n = 610)), number of individuals in which that prey type occurred is indicated in brackets (n).