DNA Metabarcoding as a Marine Conservation and Management Tool: A Circumpolar Examination of Fishery Discards in the Diet of Threatened Albatrosses

摘要: Almost all of the world's fisheries overlap spatially and temporally with foraging seabirds, impacts that range from food supplementation (through scavenging behind vessels), to resource competition incidental mortality. The nature extent interactions between seabirds vary, as does level efficacy management mitigation. Seabird dietary studies provide information on prey diversity often identify species are also caught in fisheries, providing evidence linkages which can be used improve ecosystem based fisheries. However, identification fish difficult conventional techniques. black-browed albatross (Thalassarche melanophris) has a circumpolar distribution suffered major population declines due primarily mortality We use DNA metabarcoding scats investigate their during breeding season at six sites across range, over two seasons. spatial temporal diets overlaps operating adjacent waters. Across sites, 51 33 families were identified, 23 contributing >10% proportion samples or sequences any site. There was extensive geographic variation but little inter-annual variability consumed. Several not easily accessible albatross, commercially harvested by-caught, detected diet season. This particularly evident Falkland Islands Iles Kerguelen where higher fishery catch amounts (or discard known) corresponded occurrence these samples. study indicates ongoing through consumption discards, increasing risk seabird Breeding success discards diet, highlighting need minimize discarding reduce ecosystem. provides valuable non-invasive tool for assessing broad ranges. an avenue managers assess compliance policies interaction seabirds.