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DNA metabarcoding of feces to infer summer diet of Pacific walruses

July 24, 2020

Environmental conditions in the Chukchi Sea are changing rapidly and may alter the abundance and distribution of marine species and their benthic prey. We used a metabarcoding approach to identify potentially important prey taxa from Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) fecal samples (n = 87). Bivalvia was the most dominant class of prey (66% of all normalized counts) and occurred in 98% of the samples. Polychaeta and Gastropoda occurred in 70% and 62% of the samples, respectively. The remaining nine invertebrate classes comprised

Publication Year 2020
Title DNA metabarcoding of feces to infer summer diet of Pacific walruses
DOI 10.1111/mms.12717
Authors Sarah Sonsthagen, Chadwick Jay, Robert Cornman, Anthony Fischbach, Jacqueline Grebmeier, Sandra Talbot
Publication Type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Series Title Marine Mammal Science
Index ID 70214668
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Alaska Science Center Biology WTEB
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