The Guadalupe fur seal (GFS) currently is recovering from near extinction and prey availability is an important factor. Scat and stable isotope analyses (SIA) were used to assess GFS foraging on Guadalupe Island during 2013–2016. This period was characterized by normal (2013) ocean temperatures followed by warm conditions (2014–2016). Scat samples (~40/year) were collected for prey identification. Additionally, lanugo samples from 1‐month‐old pups (50/year) were processed for SIA (δ¹³C/δ¹⁵N). Interannual prey preferences were identified (ANOSIM, p < .05), including significant differences between 2013 and the anomalous years. The most important prey species among these years was the jumbo squid; followed by the neon flying squid (2014–2016). The GFS diet was more specialized in 2013–2015 and more generalized in 2016. Prey from higher trophic levels (determined by scat analysis) were consumed during 2014–2016, but with significantly lower δ¹³C/δ¹⁵N values than in 2013 (ANOVA, p < .05 for both isotope ratios). This pattern may indicate more northerly or offshore foraging areas, with the presence of oceanic prey (neon flying squid). The widest isotopic niche was observed in 2015 (2.2‰²), reflecting a broader foraging area. Our findings are an important step toward better understanding the impacts of climate change on the recovery of GFS.

中文翻译：

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前所未有的温水异常对瓜达卢佩海豹的年度捕食偏好和觅食区的生态影响

瓜达卢佩海豹（GFS）目前正从濒临灭绝中恢复，猎物的可用性是一个重要因素。在2013-2016年期间，使用粪便和稳定同位素分析（SIA）评估了瓜达卢佩岛上的GFS觅食。这一时期的特征是正常（2013年）的海洋温度，随后是温暖的条件（2014-2016年）。收集粪便样本（约40个/年）以识别猎物。另外，从1月龄幼鼠（50 /年）胎毛样品进行处理用于SIA（δ ¹³ C /δ ¹⁵ N）。确定了年度猎物的偏好（ANOSIM，p <.05），包括2013年与异常年份之间的显着差异。这些年来，最重要的猎物是巨型鱿鱼。其次是霓虹飞乌贼（2014–2016）。的GFS饮食更专业2013 - 2015年和从高营养水平（由SCAT分析测定）中2014至2016年被消耗在2016年食饵更一概而论，但具有降低显著δ ¹³ C /δ ^15个比在2013 N个值（方差分析， 两种同位素比率的p <0.05。这种模式可能表明存在更北偏北或近海觅食的区域，并伴有海洋猎物（霓虹飞乌贼）。2015年观测到最大的同位素生态位（2.2‰ ²），反映了更广阔的觅食领域。我们的发现是朝更好地了解气候变化对GFS恢复的影响迈出的重要一步。