Long-term feeding ecology and habitat use in harbour porpoises Phocoena phocoena from Scandinavian waters inferred from trace elements and stable isotopes

Among the trace elements analysed, only Cd, with an oceanic specific food origin, was found to be useful as an ecological tracer. All other trace elements studied were not useful, most likely because of physiological regulation and/or few specific sources in the food web. The δ13C, δ15N signatures and Cd levels were highly correlated with each other, as well as with local bathymetry and geographic position (latitude). Variation in the isotopic ratios indicated a shift in harbour porpoise's feeding habits from pelagic prey species in deep northern waters to more coastal and/or demersal prey in the relatively shallow North Sea and Skagerrak waters. This result is consistent with stomach content analyses found in the literature. This shift was associated with a northward Cd-enrichment which provides further support to the Cd 'anomaly' previously reported in polar waters and suggests that porpoises in deep northern waters include Cd-contaminated prey in their diet, such as oceanic cephalopods.As stable isotopes and Cd provide information in the medium and the long term respectively, the spatial variation found, shows that harbour porpoises experience different ecological regimes during the year along the Scandinavian coasts, adapting their feeding habits to local oceanographic conditions, without performing extensive migration.Harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) are among the smallest cetaceans, and are widely distributed in cold waters of the temperate and sub-arctic northern hemisphere [1]. They occur primarily over continental shelves, although some individuals are occasionally found in deeper waters [2]. Throughout their distribution, harbour porpoises are vulnerable to mortality in commercial gillnet fisheries [3]. The development and application of new technologies, including time-depth recorders and satellite geolocation, have substantially increased our knowledge of habitat use by marine mammals [4]. However, until now, the application of these techniques to h