Estimation of a Killer Whale (Orcinus orca) Population's Diet Using Sequencing Analysis of DNA from Feces.

• Published in: PLOS ONE
• Main Authors: Michael J Ford, Jennifer Hempelmann, M Bradley Hanson, Katherine L Ayres, Robin W Baird, Candice K Emmons, Jessica I Lundin, Gregory S Schorr, Samuel K Wasser, Linda K Park
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2016
• Subjects: Medicine; R; Science; Q; Sockeye; Killer Whale; Orca; Orcinus orca; Killer whale
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0144956; https://doaj.org/article/0e4829b99db64080a569c194e4d39e0e

Estimating diet composition is important for understanding interactions between predators and prey and thus illuminating ecosystem function. The diet of many species, however, is difficult to observe directly. Genetic analysis of fecal material collected in the field is therefore a useful tool for g...