Using Next-Generation Sequencing to Disentangle the Diet and Incidence of Intestinal Parasites of Falkland Flightless Steamer Duck <i>Tachyeres brachypterus</i> and Patagonian Crested Duck <i>Lophonetta specularioides</i> Sharing a South Atlantic Island
Species overlapping in habitat use can cohabit depending on how they exploit resources. To understand segregation in resource use, an exhaustive knowledge of the diet is required. We aimed to disentangle the diet composition of the Falkland Flightless Steamer Duck <i>Tachyeres brachypterus<...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-03-01
|
| Series: | Genes |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/14/3/731 |
| _version_ | 1797611535719202816 |
|---|---|
| author | Juan F. Masello Yvonne R. Schumm Sven Griep Petra Quillfeldt |
| author_facet | Juan F. Masello Yvonne R. Schumm Sven Griep Petra Quillfeldt |
| author_sort | Juan F. Masello |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Species overlapping in habitat use can cohabit depending on how they exploit resources. To understand segregation in resource use, an exhaustive knowledge of the diet is required. We aimed to disentangle the diet composition of the Falkland Flightless Steamer Duck <i>Tachyeres brachypterus</i> and the Patagonian Crested Duck <i>Lophonetta specularioides</i> sharing a coastal environment. Using DNA extracted from scats and Illumina sequencing, we generated a list of molecular operational taxonomic units. Both ducks consumed a variety of invertebrates, frequently overlapping in the taxa consumed. However, only the Falkland Flightless Steamer Ducks consumed fish, which might be indicative of dietary specialization and inter-specific segregation in the restricted space that these birds share. Moreover, the female and male Falkland Flightless Steamer Ducks consumed different fish prey, with almost one-third of the fish taxa being consumed by females only and another similar number consumed by males only. This result might suggest a case of intra-specific competition, triggering sexual segregation. Additionally, we detected parasitic Platyelminthes (Cestoda and Trematoda), with different frequencies of occurrence, probably related to the different diet compositions of the ducks. This study provides the necessary baseline for future investigations of the ecological segregation of these ducks. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:29:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6fb7f80a32614a53a6e0edac2cb0e7f0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4425 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:29:06Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Genes |
| spelling | doaj.art-6fb7f80a32614a53a6e0edac2cb0e7f02023-11-17T11:18:40ZengMDPI AGGenes2073-44252023-03-0114373110.3390/genes14030731Using Next-Generation Sequencing to Disentangle the Diet and Incidence of Intestinal Parasites of Falkland Flightless Steamer Duck <i>Tachyeres brachypterus</i> and Patagonian Crested Duck <i>Lophonetta specularioides</i> Sharing a South Atlantic IslandJuan F. Masello0Yvonne R. Schumm1Sven Griep2Petra Quillfeldt3Department of Animal Ecology & Systematics, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26, D-35392 Giessen, GermanyDepartment of Animal Ecology & Systematics, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26, D-35392 Giessen, GermanyInstitute for Bioinformatics & Systems Biology, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 58, D-35392 Giessen, GermanyDepartment of Animal Ecology & Systematics, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26, D-35392 Giessen, GermanySpecies overlapping in habitat use can cohabit depending on how they exploit resources. To understand segregation in resource use, an exhaustive knowledge of the diet is required. We aimed to disentangle the diet composition of the Falkland Flightless Steamer Duck <i>Tachyeres brachypterus</i> and the Patagonian Crested Duck <i>Lophonetta specularioides</i> sharing a coastal environment. Using DNA extracted from scats and Illumina sequencing, we generated a list of molecular operational taxonomic units. Both ducks consumed a variety of invertebrates, frequently overlapping in the taxa consumed. However, only the Falkland Flightless Steamer Ducks consumed fish, which might be indicative of dietary specialization and inter-specific segregation in the restricted space that these birds share. Moreover, the female and male Falkland Flightless Steamer Ducks consumed different fish prey, with almost one-third of the fish taxa being consumed by females only and another similar number consumed by males only. This result might suggest a case of intra-specific competition, triggering sexual segregation. Additionally, we detected parasitic Platyelminthes (Cestoda and Trematoda), with different frequencies of occurrence, probably related to the different diet compositions of the ducks. This study provides the necessary baseline for future investigations of the ecological segregation of these ducks.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/14/3/731AnatidaeAvesdiet compositionDNA basedIllumina sequencemolecular scatology |
| spellingShingle | Juan F. Masello Yvonne R. Schumm Sven Griep Petra Quillfeldt Using Next-Generation Sequencing to Disentangle the Diet and Incidence of Intestinal Parasites of Falkland Flightless Steamer Duck <i>Tachyeres brachypterus</i> and Patagonian Crested Duck <i>Lophonetta specularioides</i> Sharing a South Atlantic Island Genes Anatidae Aves diet composition DNA based Illumina sequence molecular scatology |
| title | Using Next-Generation Sequencing to Disentangle the Diet and Incidence of Intestinal Parasites of Falkland Flightless Steamer Duck <i>Tachyeres brachypterus</i> and Patagonian Crested Duck <i>Lophonetta specularioides</i> Sharing a South Atlantic Island |
| title_full | Using Next-Generation Sequencing to Disentangle the Diet and Incidence of Intestinal Parasites of Falkland Flightless Steamer Duck <i>Tachyeres brachypterus</i> and Patagonian Crested Duck <i>Lophonetta specularioides</i> Sharing a South Atlantic Island |
| title_fullStr | Using Next-Generation Sequencing to Disentangle the Diet and Incidence of Intestinal Parasites of Falkland Flightless Steamer Duck <i>Tachyeres brachypterus</i> and Patagonian Crested Duck <i>Lophonetta specularioides</i> Sharing a South Atlantic Island |
| title_full_unstemmed | Using Next-Generation Sequencing to Disentangle the Diet and Incidence of Intestinal Parasites of Falkland Flightless Steamer Duck <i>Tachyeres brachypterus</i> and Patagonian Crested Duck <i>Lophonetta specularioides</i> Sharing a South Atlantic Island |
| title_short | Using Next-Generation Sequencing to Disentangle the Diet and Incidence of Intestinal Parasites of Falkland Flightless Steamer Duck <i>Tachyeres brachypterus</i> and Patagonian Crested Duck <i>Lophonetta specularioides</i> Sharing a South Atlantic Island |
| title_sort | using next generation sequencing to disentangle the diet and incidence of intestinal parasites of falkland flightless steamer duck i tachyeres brachypterus i and patagonian crested duck i lophonetta specularioides i sharing a south atlantic island |
| topic | Anatidae Aves diet composition DNA based Illumina sequence molecular scatology |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/14/3/731 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT juanfmasello usingnextgenerationsequencingtodisentanglethedietandincidenceofintestinalparasitesoffalklandflightlesssteamerduckitachyeresbrachypterusiandpatagoniancrestedduckilophonettaspecularioidesisharingasouthatlanticisland AT yvonnerschumm usingnextgenerationsequencingtodisentanglethedietandincidenceofintestinalparasitesoffalklandflightlesssteamerduckitachyeresbrachypterusiandpatagoniancrestedduckilophonettaspecularioidesisharingasouthatlanticisland AT svengriep usingnextgenerationsequencingtodisentanglethedietandincidenceofintestinalparasitesoffalklandflightlesssteamerduckitachyeresbrachypterusiandpatagoniancrestedduckilophonettaspecularioidesisharingasouthatlanticisland AT petraquillfeldt usingnextgenerationsequencingtodisentanglethedietandincidenceofintestinalparasitesoffalklandflightlesssteamerduckitachyeresbrachypterusiandpatagoniancrestedduckilophonettaspecularioidesisharingasouthatlanticisland |