Electrophoresis in the study of diets and digestive rates of seabirds

Attempts were made to identify unknown gut contents of seabirds by protein analysis using electrophoresis. Standards of undigested fish and squid muscle tissue were compared with muscle tissue at various stages of digestion. Digested mixtures of squid (Loligo reynaudi), Pelagic Goby (Sufflogobius bibarbatus) and Cape Anchovy (Engraulis capensis) did not resemble the undigested standards of each species respectively. Electrophoresis could prove useful in the study of differential digestion rates of seabird prey species.