Studying Seabird Diet through Genetic Analysis of Faeces: A Case Study on Macaroni Penguins ( Eudyptes chrysolophus )
Background. Determination of seabird diet usually relies on the analysis of stomach-content remains obtained through stomach flushing; this technique is both invasive and logistically difficult. We evaluate the usefulness of DNA-based faecal analysis in a dietary study on chick-rearing macaroni peng...
Published in: | PLoS ONE |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Public Library Science
2007
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0000831 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17786203 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/50762 |
id |
ftunivtasecite:oai:ecite.utas.edu.au:50762 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftunivtasecite:oai:ecite.utas.edu.au:50762 2023-05-15T16:08:22+02:00 Studying Seabird Diet through Genetic Analysis of Faeces: A Case Study on Macaroni Penguins ( Eudyptes chrysolophus ) Deagle, BE Gales, NJ Evans, K Jarman, SN Robinson, S Trebilco, R Hindell, MA 2007 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0000831 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17786203 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/50762 en eng Public Library Science http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0000831 Deagle, BE and Gales, NJ and Evans, K and Jarman, SN and Robinson, S and Trebilco, R and Hindell, MA, Studying Seabird Diet through Genetic Analysis of Faeces: A Case Study on Macaroni Penguins ( Eudyptes chrysolophus ), PLOS One, 2, (9) pp. e831. ISSN 1932-6203 (2007) [Refereed Article] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17786203 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/50762 Environmental Sciences Environmental Science and Management Wildlife and Habitat Management Refereed Article PeerReviewed 2007 ftunivtasecite https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0000831 2019-12-13T21:25:02Z Background. Determination of seabird diet usually relies on the analysis of stomach-content remains obtained through stomach flushing; this technique is both invasive and logistically difficult. We evaluate the usefulness of DNA-based faecal analysis in a dietary study on chick-rearing macaroni penguins (Eudyptes chrysolophus) at Heard Island. Conventional stomach-content data was also collected, allowing comparison of the approaches. Methodology/Principal findings. Prey-specific PCR tests were used to detect dietary DNA in faecal samples and amplified prey DNA was cloned and sequenced. Of the 88 faecal samples collected, 39 contained detectable DNA fram one or more of the prey groups targeted with PCR tests. Euphausiid DNA was most commonly detected in the early (guard) stage of chick-rearing, and detection of DNA from the myctophid fish Krefftichthys anderssoni and amphipods became more common in samples collected in the later (crche) stage. These trends followed those observed in the penguins' stomach contents. In euphauslid-specific clone libraries the proportion of sequences from the two dominant euphausild prey species (Euphausia vallentini and Thysanoessa macrura) changed over the sampling period; again, this reflected the trend in the stomach content data. Analysis of prey sequences in universal clone libraries revealed a higher diversity of fish prey than identified in the stomachs, but non-fish prey were not well represented. Conclusions/Significance. The present study is one of the first to examine the full breadth of a predator's diet using DNA-based faecal analysis. We discuss methodological difficulties encountered and suggest possible refinements. Overall, the ability of the DNA-based approach to detect temporal variation in the diet of macaroni penguins indicates this non-invasive method will be generally useful for monitoring population-level dietary trends in seabirds. 2007 Deagle et al. Article in Journal/Newspaper Eudyptes chrysolophus Heard Island Thysanoessa macrura eCite UTAS (University of Tasmania) Heard Island PLoS ONE 2 9 e831 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
eCite UTAS (University of Tasmania) |
op_collection_id |
ftunivtasecite |
language |
English |
topic |
Environmental Sciences Environmental Science and Management Wildlife and Habitat Management |
spellingShingle |
Environmental Sciences Environmental Science and Management Wildlife and Habitat Management Deagle, BE Gales, NJ Evans, K Jarman, SN Robinson, S Trebilco, R Hindell, MA Studying Seabird Diet through Genetic Analysis of Faeces: A Case Study on Macaroni Penguins ( Eudyptes chrysolophus ) |
topic_facet |
Environmental Sciences Environmental Science and Management Wildlife and Habitat Management |
description |
Background. Determination of seabird diet usually relies on the analysis of stomach-content remains obtained through stomach flushing; this technique is both invasive and logistically difficult. We evaluate the usefulness of DNA-based faecal analysis in a dietary study on chick-rearing macaroni penguins (Eudyptes chrysolophus) at Heard Island. Conventional stomach-content data was also collected, allowing comparison of the approaches. Methodology/Principal findings. Prey-specific PCR tests were used to detect dietary DNA in faecal samples and amplified prey DNA was cloned and sequenced. Of the 88 faecal samples collected, 39 contained detectable DNA fram one or more of the prey groups targeted with PCR tests. Euphausiid DNA was most commonly detected in the early (guard) stage of chick-rearing, and detection of DNA from the myctophid fish Krefftichthys anderssoni and amphipods became more common in samples collected in the later (crche) stage. These trends followed those observed in the penguins' stomach contents. In euphauslid-specific clone libraries the proportion of sequences from the two dominant euphausild prey species (Euphausia vallentini and Thysanoessa macrura) changed over the sampling period; again, this reflected the trend in the stomach content data. Analysis of prey sequences in universal clone libraries revealed a higher diversity of fish prey than identified in the stomachs, but non-fish prey were not well represented. Conclusions/Significance. The present study is one of the first to examine the full breadth of a predator's diet using DNA-based faecal analysis. We discuss methodological difficulties encountered and suggest possible refinements. Overall, the ability of the DNA-based approach to detect temporal variation in the diet of macaroni penguins indicates this non-invasive method will be generally useful for monitoring population-level dietary trends in seabirds. 2007 Deagle et al. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Deagle, BE Gales, NJ Evans, K Jarman, SN Robinson, S Trebilco, R Hindell, MA |
author_facet |
Deagle, BE Gales, NJ Evans, K Jarman, SN Robinson, S Trebilco, R Hindell, MA |
author_sort |
Deagle, BE |
title |
Studying Seabird Diet through Genetic Analysis of Faeces: A Case Study on Macaroni Penguins ( Eudyptes chrysolophus ) |
title_short |
Studying Seabird Diet through Genetic Analysis of Faeces: A Case Study on Macaroni Penguins ( Eudyptes chrysolophus ) |
title_full |
Studying Seabird Diet through Genetic Analysis of Faeces: A Case Study on Macaroni Penguins ( Eudyptes chrysolophus ) |
title_fullStr |
Studying Seabird Diet through Genetic Analysis of Faeces: A Case Study on Macaroni Penguins ( Eudyptes chrysolophus ) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Studying Seabird Diet through Genetic Analysis of Faeces: A Case Study on Macaroni Penguins ( Eudyptes chrysolophus ) |
title_sort |
studying seabird diet through genetic analysis of faeces: a case study on macaroni penguins ( eudyptes chrysolophus ) |
publisher |
Public Library Science |
publishDate |
2007 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0000831 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17786203 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/50762 |
geographic |
Heard Island |
geographic_facet |
Heard Island |
genre |
Eudyptes chrysolophus Heard Island Thysanoessa macrura |
genre_facet |
Eudyptes chrysolophus Heard Island Thysanoessa macrura |
op_relation |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0000831 Deagle, BE and Gales, NJ and Evans, K and Jarman, SN and Robinson, S and Trebilco, R and Hindell, MA, Studying Seabird Diet through Genetic Analysis of Faeces: A Case Study on Macaroni Penguins ( Eudyptes chrysolophus ), PLOS One, 2, (9) pp. e831. ISSN 1932-6203 (2007) [Refereed Article] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17786203 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/50762 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0000831 |
container_title |
PLoS ONE |
container_volume |
2 |
container_issue |
9 |
container_start_page |
e831 |
_version_ |
1766404422477283328 |