DNA metabarcoding sequence data for diet analysis of caribou ...

• Main Authors: Mitchell, Greniqueca, Wilson, Paul, Redquest, Bridget, Patterson, Brent, Manseau, Micheline, Rutledge, Linda
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2022
• Subjects: FOS: Biological sciences; Conservation; ITS2; lichen; trnL; Woodland caribou; Rangifer tarandus; Rangifer tarandus caribou; Canada
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.hqbzkh1j3; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.hqbzkh1j3

Woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) are threatened in Canada due to the drastic decline in population size caused primarily by human-induced landscape changes that decrease habitat and increase predation risk. Conservation efforts have largely focused on reducing predators and protecting critical habitat, whereas research on dietary niches and the role of potential food constraints in lichen-poor environments is limited. To improve our understanding of dietary niche variability, we used a next-generation sequencing approach with metabarcoding of DNA extracted from faecal pellets of woodland caribou located on Lake Superior in lichen-rich (mainland) and lichen-poor (island) environments. Amplicon sequencing of fungal ITS2 region revealed lichen-associated fungi as predominant in samples from both populations, but amplification at the chloroplast trnL region, which was only successful on island samples, revealed primary consumption of yew based on relative read abundance (Taxus spp.; 83.68%) with ... : Methodological details are contained in the original publication. All data were generated on an Illumina MiSeq platform. ...