Consistent foraging on marine resources by coyotes (Canis latrans) on the Southern California coast

Abstract

The marine-terrestrial interface provides consumers with access to nutrient rich ocean-based resource subsidies. Coyotes, omnivorous generalists with large ranges that can span many landscape types including the coastal ecotone, might be a critical component of the intertidal food web, contributing to resource subsidy movement into the less productive adjacent coastal scrub habitat. This study utilized an array of camera traps along identified coastal game trails in two protected coastal properties in California to assess the consumption of marine fauna by coyotes in intertidal habitats. We captured coyotes consuming a variety of marine resources, including marine mammals, fish, and intertidal invertebrates. We therefore suggest that coyotes are a more consistent consumer in intertidal habitats than previously thought. We highlight the need for further research into the role of coyotes as a marine to terrestrial subsidy vector, especially under the pressure of anthropogenic change in coastal systems.