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.