DNA-metabarcoding supports trophic flexibility and reveals new prey species for the Galapagos sea lion.

ABSTRACT: Tropical ecosystems are challenging for pinnipeds due to fluctuating food availability. According to previous research, the Galapagos sea lion (GSL, Zalophus wollebaeki) adopts trophic flexibility to face such conditions. However, this hypothesis comes from studies using traditional methods (hard-parts analysis of scat and isotopic analysis from tissue). We studied the diet of five rookeries in the southeastern Galapagos bioregion (which harbors the highest GSL density), via DNA-metabarcoding of scat samples. The DNA-metabarcoding approach may identify consumed prey with a higher taxonomic resolution than isotopic analysis, while not depending on hard-parts remaining through digestion. Our study included five different rookeries to look for evidence of trophic flexibility at the bio

SUBMITTER: Urquia DO 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10905234 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature