Individual Variability in Foraging Success of Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina) Preying on Pacific Salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) Informs Predator Management
The complexities of trophic dynamics complicate the management of predator populations. In some cases, targeted culling campaigns are meant to control predator populations. In these campaigns, predators are considered ‘rogue individuals’ based on visitation rates to a site. This definition carries t...
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ftwestwashington:oai:cedar.wwu.edu:wwuet-2069 2023-06-11T04:12:25+02:00 Individual Variability in Foraging Success of Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina) Preying on Pacific Salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) Informs Predator Management Freeman, Grace 2021-01-01T08:00:00Z application/pdf https://cedar.wwu.edu/wwuet/1042 https://cedar.wwu.edu/context/wwuet/article/2069/viewcontent/Freeman_Thesis_Complete.pdf English eng Western CEDAR https://cedar.wwu.edu/wwuet/1042 https://cedar.wwu.edu/context/wwuet/article/2069/viewcontent/Freeman_Thesis_Complete.pdf Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author’s written permission. WWU Graduate School Collection predator prey trophic management culling rogue individual harbor seal Pacific salmon Phoca vitulina Oncorhynchus spp Biology text 2021 ftwestwashington 2023-05-07T16:43:04Z The complexities of trophic dynamics complicate the management of predator populations. In some cases, targeted culling campaigns are meant to control predator populations. In these campaigns, predators are considered ‘rogue individuals’ based on visitation rates to a site. This definition carries the underlying assumption that all predators impact prey equally, however, individual variability in foraging success may compromise such an assumption. Thus, to test the hypothesis that foraging success varies among individual predators, I studied harbor seals preying on adult Pacific Salmon during the 2014-2019 fall salmon runs. I analyzed individual harbor seal visitation rate and foraging success based on photographs and field observations, and I employed Generalized Linear Mixed-Effects Models to determine individual variability in metrics of foraging success. Individual harbor seal identity better explained both total foraging success and the odds of success of a given foraging event when compared to models based on visitation rate alone. My data suggest that considering intraspecific variability and classifying ‘rogue individuals’ based on foraging success is a more accurate protocol for managing predator populations than relying solely on visitation rate of the predators. Text harbor seal Phoca vitulina Western Washington University: CEDAR (Contributing to Education through Digital Access to Research) Pacific |
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Open Polar |
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Western Washington University: CEDAR (Contributing to Education through Digital Access to Research) |
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ftwestwashington |
language |
English |
topic |
predator prey trophic management culling rogue individual harbor seal Pacific salmon Phoca vitulina Oncorhynchus spp Biology |
spellingShingle |
predator prey trophic management culling rogue individual harbor seal Pacific salmon Phoca vitulina Oncorhynchus spp Biology Freeman, Grace Individual Variability in Foraging Success of Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina) Preying on Pacific Salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) Informs Predator Management |
topic_facet |
predator prey trophic management culling rogue individual harbor seal Pacific salmon Phoca vitulina Oncorhynchus spp Biology |
description |
The complexities of trophic dynamics complicate the management of predator populations. In some cases, targeted culling campaigns are meant to control predator populations. In these campaigns, predators are considered ‘rogue individuals’ based on visitation rates to a site. This definition carries the underlying assumption that all predators impact prey equally, however, individual variability in foraging success may compromise such an assumption. Thus, to test the hypothesis that foraging success varies among individual predators, I studied harbor seals preying on adult Pacific Salmon during the 2014-2019 fall salmon runs. I analyzed individual harbor seal visitation rate and foraging success based on photographs and field observations, and I employed Generalized Linear Mixed-Effects Models to determine individual variability in metrics of foraging success. Individual harbor seal identity better explained both total foraging success and the odds of success of a given foraging event when compared to models based on visitation rate alone. My data suggest that considering intraspecific variability and classifying ‘rogue individuals’ based on foraging success is a more accurate protocol for managing predator populations than relying solely on visitation rate of the predators. |
format |
Text |
author |
Freeman, Grace |
author_facet |
Freeman, Grace |
author_sort |
Freeman, Grace |
title |
Individual Variability in Foraging Success of Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina) Preying on Pacific Salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) Informs Predator Management |
title_short |
Individual Variability in Foraging Success of Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina) Preying on Pacific Salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) Informs Predator Management |
title_full |
Individual Variability in Foraging Success of Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina) Preying on Pacific Salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) Informs Predator Management |
title_fullStr |
Individual Variability in Foraging Success of Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina) Preying on Pacific Salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) Informs Predator Management |
title_full_unstemmed |
Individual Variability in Foraging Success of Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina) Preying on Pacific Salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) Informs Predator Management |
title_sort |
individual variability in foraging success of harbor seals (phoca vitulina) preying on pacific salmon (oncorhynchus spp.) informs predator management |
publisher |
Western CEDAR |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://cedar.wwu.edu/wwuet/1042 https://cedar.wwu.edu/context/wwuet/article/2069/viewcontent/Freeman_Thesis_Complete.pdf |
geographic |
Pacific |
geographic_facet |
Pacific |
genre |
harbor seal Phoca vitulina |
genre_facet |
harbor seal Phoca vitulina |
op_source |
WWU Graduate School Collection |
op_relation |
https://cedar.wwu.edu/wwuet/1042 https://cedar.wwu.edu/context/wwuet/article/2069/viewcontent/Freeman_Thesis_Complete.pdf |
op_rights |
Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author’s written permission. |
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