Understanding resource use and dietary niche partitioning in a high-altitude predator guild using seasonal sampling and DNA metabarcoding.

Autor:	Hacker CE; Ecology and Nature Conservation Institute, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Key Laboratory of Biodiversity Conservation of National Forestry and Grassland Administration Beijing, Beijing, China.; Department of Biological Sciences, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America.; Snow Leopard Conservancy, Sonoma, California, United States of America., Cong W; Ecology and Nature Conservation Institute, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Key Laboratory of Biodiversity Conservation of National Forestry and Grassland Administration Beijing, Beijing, China., Dai Y; Institute for Ecology and Environmental Resources, Chongqing Academy of Social Sciences, Chongqing, China., Li J; Ecology and Nature Conservation Institute, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Key Laboratory of Biodiversity Conservation of National Forestry and Grassland Administration Beijing, Beijing, China., Li Y; Ecology and Nature Conservation Institute, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Key Laboratory of Biodiversity Conservation of National Forestry and Grassland Administration Beijing, Beijing, China., Li D; Ecology and Nature Conservation Institute, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Key Laboratory of Biodiversity Conservation of National Forestry and Grassland Administration Beijing, Beijing, China., Jackson R; Institute for Ecology and Environmental Resources, Chongqing Academy of Social Sciences, Chongqing, China., Janecka JE; Department of Biological Sciences, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America., Zhang Y; Ecology and Nature Conservation Institute, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Key Laboratory of Biodiversity Conservation of National Forestry and Grassland Administration Beijing, Beijing, China.
Jazyk:	angličtina
Zdroj:	PloS one [PLoS One] 2024 Dec 19; Vol. 19 (12), pp. e0315995. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Dec 19 (Print Publication: 2024).
DOI:	10.1371/journal.pone.0315995
Abstrakt:	Understanding of predator feeding ecology, interactions among co-occurring predator species, and seasonal changes is critical for conservation management given the important role that predators play in shaping their ecosystems, but is lacking for most regions of the world. Dietary studies have demonstrated varying conclusions in the role that resource partitioning plays in the maintenance of predator communities due to complex inter-related factors that may shape prey use. We used DNA metabarcoding on 581 scat samples to determine the dietary composition, similarity, diversity, and niche overlap of eight predator species (Tibetan wolf (Canis lupus), snow leopard (Panthera uncia), Tibetan brown bear (Ursus arctos pruinosus), Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), Tibetan fox (Vulpes ferrilata), red fox (V. vulpes), Pallas's cat (Otocolobus manul), and beech marten (Martes foina)) across four sampling periods (September 2019, December 2019, March 2020, July 2020) in the Gouli Nature Reserve located in Dulan County, Qinghai Province, China. We identified 26 unique prey items, with blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur) and pika (Ochotona spp.) being most common. Small mammals had the highest frequency of occurrence, while domestic and wild ungulates contributed the most biomass. No significant differences in diet were detected across months, with the exception of March and December for the red fox (p = 0.010). Dietary niche overlap was greater than expected when considering all species (p < 0.001) across seasons and between the Tibetan wolf and snow leopard in March (p = 0.007) when compared for species pairs by season. This study contributes to understanding of fine-scale temporal changes in predator diet, and offers methodological and management strategies that may have applicability to other predator guilds living in complex landscapes. Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. (Copyright: This is an open access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose. The work is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication.)
Databáze:	MEDLINE
Externí odkaz:	Zobrazit plný text záznamu