| There are many different ways of studying diet and how the diet of certain organisms will impact different ecosystems in the world. Studying diet can be important to understand the interactions between animals and the world around them. The Double-Crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus), is a type of seabird that subsists on primarily fish, crustaceans, and other aquatic fauna in their foraging habitat. Recently in East Sand Island, OR there has been evidence that assisted in the implementation of a management plan to kill and harass the cormorants at their colony due to the cormorants eating a lot of endangered Salmonid species in that area. I have started to conduct an overall diet analysis of Double-Crested Cormorants to determine if a management plan on cormorants should be implemented in Humboldt Bay, CA. I have dissected pellets that the cormorants routinely regurgitated and will be primarily focusing on the identifying the otoliths, fish ear bones, down to species to see if the cormorants' diet consists of large proportions of endangered species in the area.
This is an ongoing study that will conclude in December of 2017.
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