4.5 Conclusion
Through quantifying levels of relative specialization, we show that
intrapopulation feeding diversity occurs in Salish Sea harbor seals
between locations, seasons, and sexes. In both female and male harbor
seals benthic prey were more commonly associated with a more specialized
diet, suggesting the prey’s ecology had a role in driving the level of
specialization in addition to sex. These different impacts of male
versus female on benthic versus pelagic prey should be considered
henceforth when management address harbor seal interactions with species
of concern. Further, we demonstrated how the use of molecular prey
barcoding from scat allows for higher taxonomic resolution and
greaterspatiotemporal resolution than conventional methods. The
resulting large scale examinations of intrapopulation feeding diversity
uncovered previously unknown complex interactions between predators and
prey.