Predation patterns on the tundra—genetic barcoding of scats from two sympatric fox species
In the Arctic tundra, climate-induced emergence of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes (Linnaeus, 1758)), a competitor to the Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus (Linnaeus, 1758)), is predicted to influence predation patterns of both fox mesopredators. In this study, we (i) identified predator species from scats thro...
Published in: | Arctic Science |
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Canadian Science Publishing
2022
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2021-0051 https://doaj.org/article/c9c3661c2ff545d2811a4faa5ba2eadd |
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fttriple:oai:gotriple.eu:oai:doaj.org/article:c9c3661c2ff545d2811a4faa5ba2eadd 2023-05-15T14:21:24+02:00 Predation patterns on the tundra—genetic barcoding of scats from two sympatric fox species Caitlin Wilkinson Jan Vigués Anders Angerbjörn Karin Norén 2022-07-01 https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2021-0051 https://doaj.org/article/c9c3661c2ff545d2811a4faa5ba2eadd en fr eng fre Canadian Science Publishing doi:10.1139/as-2021-0051 2368-7460 https://doaj.org/article/c9c3661c2ff545d2811a4faa5ba2eadd undefined Arctic Science (2022) fecal DNA specialist generalist Vulpes vulpes Vulpes lagopus non-invasive genetic sampling envir geo Journal Article https://vocabularies.coar-repositories.org/resource_types/c_6501/ 2022 fttriple https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2021-0051 2023-01-22T19:15:18Z In the Arctic tundra, climate-induced emergence of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes (Linnaeus, 1758)), a competitor to the Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus (Linnaeus, 1758)), is predicted to influence predation patterns of both fox mesopredators. In this study, we (i) identified predator species from scats through an established barcoding approach and (ii) explored the use of a cheap, quick barcoding method of fox feces (n = 103). We investigated differences in diet between the red fox (predicted generalist predator) and Arctic fox (predicted specialist predator) over 2 years with varying prey abundance. We amplified short DNA fragments (<200 bp) from small rodents, birds and hares. For both predators, there was a high frequency of occurrence of rodents (38%–69%) identifying them as primary prey species and birds as secondary prey species (13%–31%). This demonstrates the strength of a straightforward DNA barcoding method for dietary analyses in sympatric fox predators, with species-level resolution of prey. Barcoding is a promising tool for future dietary studies; however, a few methodological improvements, along with extended sampling, are needed for a more complete assessment of fox predation patterns. Integrating high-resolution dietary analyses have great potential to enhance our understanding of predation patterns in Arctic tundra communities. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arctic Fox Arctic Tundra Vulpes lagopus Unknown Arctic Arctic Science |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Unknown |
op_collection_id |
fttriple |
language |
English French |
topic |
fecal DNA specialist generalist Vulpes vulpes Vulpes lagopus non-invasive genetic sampling envir geo |
spellingShingle |
fecal DNA specialist generalist Vulpes vulpes Vulpes lagopus non-invasive genetic sampling envir geo Caitlin Wilkinson Jan Vigués Anders Angerbjörn Karin Norén Predation patterns on the tundra—genetic barcoding of scats from two sympatric fox species |
topic_facet |
fecal DNA specialist generalist Vulpes vulpes Vulpes lagopus non-invasive genetic sampling envir geo |
description |
In the Arctic tundra, climate-induced emergence of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes (Linnaeus, 1758)), a competitor to the Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus (Linnaeus, 1758)), is predicted to influence predation patterns of both fox mesopredators. In this study, we (i) identified predator species from scats through an established barcoding approach and (ii) explored the use of a cheap, quick barcoding method of fox feces (n = 103). We investigated differences in diet between the red fox (predicted generalist predator) and Arctic fox (predicted specialist predator) over 2 years with varying prey abundance. We amplified short DNA fragments (<200 bp) from small rodents, birds and hares. For both predators, there was a high frequency of occurrence of rodents (38%–69%) identifying them as primary prey species and birds as secondary prey species (13%–31%). This demonstrates the strength of a straightforward DNA barcoding method for dietary analyses in sympatric fox predators, with species-level resolution of prey. Barcoding is a promising tool for future dietary studies; however, a few methodological improvements, along with extended sampling, are needed for a more complete assessment of fox predation patterns. Integrating high-resolution dietary analyses have great potential to enhance our understanding of predation patterns in Arctic tundra communities. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Caitlin Wilkinson Jan Vigués Anders Angerbjörn Karin Norén |
author_facet |
Caitlin Wilkinson Jan Vigués Anders Angerbjörn Karin Norén |
author_sort |
Caitlin Wilkinson |
title |
Predation patterns on the tundra—genetic barcoding of scats from two sympatric fox species |
title_short |
Predation patterns on the tundra—genetic barcoding of scats from two sympatric fox species |
title_full |
Predation patterns on the tundra—genetic barcoding of scats from two sympatric fox species |
title_fullStr |
Predation patterns on the tundra—genetic barcoding of scats from two sympatric fox species |
title_full_unstemmed |
Predation patterns on the tundra—genetic barcoding of scats from two sympatric fox species |
title_sort |
predation patterns on the tundra—genetic barcoding of scats from two sympatric fox species |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2021-0051 https://doaj.org/article/c9c3661c2ff545d2811a4faa5ba2eadd |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Arctic Fox Arctic Tundra Vulpes lagopus |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic Fox Arctic Tundra Vulpes lagopus |
op_source |
Arctic Science (2022) |
op_relation |
doi:10.1139/as-2021-0051 2368-7460 https://doaj.org/article/c9c3661c2ff545d2811a4faa5ba2eadd |
op_rights |
undefined |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2021-0051 |
container_title |
Arctic Science |
_version_ |
1766294067323338752 |