![]() ![]() ![]() Further, the important commercial species Sepioteuthis australis (southern calamari squid) and Panulirus cygnus (western rock lobster) were detected, but were present in <25% of samples. The results confirm that the Australian sea lion is a wide‐ranging opportunistic predator that consumes an array of mainly demersal fauna. Over 1.2 million metabarcodes identified six classes from three phyla, together representing over 80 taxa. A combination of PCR assays were designed to target a variety of potential sea lion prey, including mammals, fish, crustaceans, cephalopods, and birds. Given that prey availability is vital to the survival of top predators, this study set out to understand what dietary information DNA metabarcoding could yield from 36 sea lion scats collected across 1,500 km of its distribution in southwest Western Australia. The Australian sea lion ( Neophoca cinerea) is an endemic apex predator and one of the world's most endangered pinnipeds. The analysis of apex predator diet has the ability to deliver valuable insights into ecosystem health, and the potential impacts a predator might have on commercially relevant species. ![]()
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