Metabarcoding clarifies the diet of the elusive and vulnerable Australian tjakura (Great Desert Skink, Liopholis kintorei)
IntroductionAccurately quantifying the diet of species has implications for our understanding of their ecology and conservation. Yet, determining the dietary composition of threatened and elusive species in the wild is often difficult.MethodsThis study presents the first dietary assessment of tjakur...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2024.1354138/full |
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| author | David Thuo David Thuo Nicholas A. Macgregor Nicholas A. Macgregor Samuel D. Merson Dianne Scopel J. Scott Keogh Jeremy Kenny Jessica L. Williams Tracey Guest Shaeleigh Swan Steve McAlpin Leo Joseph |
| author_facet | David Thuo David Thuo Nicholas A. Macgregor Nicholas A. Macgregor Samuel D. Merson Dianne Scopel J. Scott Keogh Jeremy Kenny Jessica L. Williams Tracey Guest Shaeleigh Swan Steve McAlpin Leo Joseph |
| author_sort | David Thuo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionAccurately quantifying the diet of species has implications for our understanding of their ecology and conservation. Yet, determining the dietary composition of threatened and elusive species in the wild is often difficult.MethodsThis study presents the first dietary assessment of tjakura (Liopholis kintorei) using non-invasive sampling of scats and high-throughput sequencing techniques.ResultsThe tjakura in Uluru consumed 48 invertebrates, 27 plants, and two vertebrate taxa. Fruit flies (Leucophenga spp.), beetles (Harpalus spp. and Omorgus spp.), mosquitos (Culicidae spp.), termites (Termitidae spp.), spiked mallow (Malvastrum americanum), bush tomatoes (Solanum centrale), and wild turnip (Brassica tournefortii) comprised the majority of the diet. Analysis of similarity revealed that food items did not differ significantly between tjakura age groups, seasons, or time since the last fire, however, adults, hot season, and fire scar of 2018 showed a relatively higher prey diversity.DiscussionThese high similarities in diet composition between age classes and fire scars indicate potential intraspecific competition when food resources are scarce. The diet diversity and potential plasticity observed in this study reflect a dietary ecology influenced by food availability rather than preference. Our study demonstrates that scat DNA metabarcoding is an important complementary tool to conventional scat analysis or indigenous knowledge as most food items we identified were previously not recorded through those methods. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T19:16:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7afc4dc9dfe9467096a762d62635fb3c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-701X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T19:16:25Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj.art-7afc4dc9dfe9467096a762d62635fb3c2024-03-26T04:58:12ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution2296-701X2024-03-011210.3389/fevo.2024.13541381354138Metabarcoding clarifies the diet of the elusive and vulnerable Australian tjakura (Great Desert Skink, Liopholis kintorei)David Thuo0David Thuo1Nicholas A. Macgregor2Nicholas A. Macgregor3Samuel D. Merson4Dianne Scopel5J. Scott Keogh6Jeremy Kenny7Jessica L. Williams8Tracey Guest9Shaeleigh Swan10Steve McAlpin11Leo Joseph12Australian National Wildlife Collection, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) National Research Collections Australia, Canberra, ACT, AustraliaDivision of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, AustraliaParks Australia, Canberra, ACT, AustraliaDurell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, United KingdomTree Kangaroo Conservation Program, Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle, WA, United StatesUluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Parks Australia, Yulara, NT, AustraliaDivision of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, AustraliaMutitjulu Tjakura Rangers, Mutitjulu, NT, AustraliaParks Australia, Canberra, ACT, AustraliaUluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Parks Australia, Yulara, NT, AustraliaUluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Parks Australia, Yulara, NT, AustraliaIndependent Researcher, Darwin, NT, AustraliaAustralian National Wildlife Collection, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) National Research Collections Australia, Canberra, ACT, AustraliaIntroductionAccurately quantifying the diet of species has implications for our understanding of their ecology and conservation. Yet, determining the dietary composition of threatened and elusive species in the wild is often difficult.MethodsThis study presents the first dietary assessment of tjakura (Liopholis kintorei) using non-invasive sampling of scats and high-throughput sequencing techniques.ResultsThe tjakura in Uluru consumed 48 invertebrates, 27 plants, and two vertebrate taxa. Fruit flies (Leucophenga spp.), beetles (Harpalus spp. and Omorgus spp.), mosquitos (Culicidae spp.), termites (Termitidae spp.), spiked mallow (Malvastrum americanum), bush tomatoes (Solanum centrale), and wild turnip (Brassica tournefortii) comprised the majority of the diet. Analysis of similarity revealed that food items did not differ significantly between tjakura age groups, seasons, or time since the last fire, however, adults, hot season, and fire scar of 2018 showed a relatively higher prey diversity.DiscussionThese high similarities in diet composition between age classes and fire scars indicate potential intraspecific competition when food resources are scarce. The diet diversity and potential plasticity observed in this study reflect a dietary ecology influenced by food availability rather than preference. Our study demonstrates that scat DNA metabarcoding is an important complementary tool to conventional scat analysis or indigenous knowledge as most food items we identified were previously not recorded through those methods.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2024.1354138/fullLiopholis kintoreiscatsfire managementskink’s dietthreatened species |
| spellingShingle | David Thuo David Thuo Nicholas A. Macgregor Nicholas A. Macgregor Samuel D. Merson Dianne Scopel J. Scott Keogh Jeremy Kenny Jessica L. Williams Tracey Guest Shaeleigh Swan Steve McAlpin Leo Joseph Metabarcoding clarifies the diet of the elusive and vulnerable Australian tjakura (Great Desert Skink, Liopholis kintorei) Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution Liopholis kintorei scats fire management skink’s diet threatened species |
| title | Metabarcoding clarifies the diet of the elusive and vulnerable Australian tjakura (Great Desert Skink, Liopholis kintorei) |
| title_full | Metabarcoding clarifies the diet of the elusive and vulnerable Australian tjakura (Great Desert Skink, Liopholis kintorei) |
| title_fullStr | Metabarcoding clarifies the diet of the elusive and vulnerable Australian tjakura (Great Desert Skink, Liopholis kintorei) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Metabarcoding clarifies the diet of the elusive and vulnerable Australian tjakura (Great Desert Skink, Liopholis kintorei) |
| title_short | Metabarcoding clarifies the diet of the elusive and vulnerable Australian tjakura (Great Desert Skink, Liopholis kintorei) |
| title_sort | metabarcoding clarifies the diet of the elusive and vulnerable australian tjakura great desert skink liopholis kintorei |
| topic | Liopholis kintorei scats fire management skink’s diet threatened species |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2024.1354138/full |
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