There is an urgent need to identify and understand the ecosystem services of pollination and seed dispersal provided by threatened mammals such as flying foxes. The first step towards this is to obtain comprehensive data on their diet. However, the volant and nocturnal nature of bats presents a particularly challenging situation, and conventional microhistological approaches to studying their diet can be laborious and time-consuming, and provide incomplete information. We used Illumina Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) as a novel, non-invasive method for analysing the diet of the island flying fox (Pteropus hypomelanus) on Tioman Island, Peninsular Malaysia. Through DNA metabarcoding of plants in flying fox droppings, using primers targeting the rbcL gene, we identified at least 29 Operationally Taxonomic Units (OTUs) comprising the diet of this giant pteropodid. OTU sequences matched at least four genera and 14 plant families from online reference databases based on a conservative Least Common Ancestor approach, and eight species from our site-specific plant reference collection. NGS was just as successful as conventional microhistological analysis in detecting plant taxa from droppings, but also uncovered six additional plant taxa. The island flying fox’s diet appeared to be dominated by figs (Ficus sp.), which was the most abundant plant taxon detected in the droppings every single month. Our study has shown that NGS can add value to the conventional microhistological approach in identifying food plant species from flying fox droppings. At this point in time, more accurate genus- and species-level identification of OTUs not only requires support from databases with more representative sequences of relevant plant DNA, but probably necessitates in situ collection of plant specimens to create a reference collection. Although this method cannot be used to quantify true abundance or proportion of plant species, nor plant parts consumed, it ultimately provides a very important first step towards identifying plant taxa and spatio-temporal patterns in flying fox diets.

Thiocyanate (SCN) is a contaminant requiring remediation in gold mine tailings and wastewaters globally. Seepage of SCN-contaminated waters into aquifers can occur from unlined or structurally compromised mine tailings storage facilities. A wide variety of microorganisms are known to be capable of biodegrading SCN; however, little is known regarding the potential of native microbes for in situ SCN biodegradation, a remediation option that is less costly than engineered approaches. Here we experimentally characterize the principal biogeochemical barrier to SCN biodegradation for an autotrophic microbial consortium enriched from mine tailings, to arrive at an environmentally realistic assessment of in situ SCN biodegradation potential. Upon amendment with phosphate, the consortium completely degraded up to ∼10 mM SCN to ammonium and sulfate, with some evidence of nitrification of the ammonium to nitrate. Although similarly enriched in known SCN-degrading strains of thiobacilli, this consortium differed in its source (mine tailings) and metabolism (autotrophy) from those of previous studies. Our results provide a proof of concept that phosphate limitation may be the principal barrier to in situ SCN biodegradation in mine tailing waters and also yield new insights into the microbial ecology of in situ SCN bioremediation involving autotrophic sulfur-oxidizing bacteria.

There is an urgent need to identify and understand the ecosystem services provided by threatened animal species such as flying foxes. The first step towards this is to obtain comprehensive data on their diet. However, the volant and nocturnal nature of flying foxes presents a challenging situation, and conventional microhistological approaches to studying their diet can be laborious and time-consuming, and provide incomplete information. We used Illumina Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) as a novel, non-invasive method for analysing the diet of the island flying fox (Pteropus hypomelanus) on Tioman Island, Peninsular Malaysia. Through NGS analysis of flying fox droppings over eight months, we identified at least 29 Operationally Taxonomic Units comprising the diet of this giant pteropodid, spanning 19 genera and 18 different plant families, including one new family not previously recorded for pteropodid diet. NGS was just as successful as conventional microhistological analysis in detecting plant taxa from droppings, but also uncovered six additional plant taxa. The island flying fox's diet appeared to be dominated by figs (Ficus sp.), which was the most abundant plant taxon detected in the droppings every single month. Our study has shown that NGS can add value to the conventional microhistological approach in identifying food plant species from flying fox droppings.However, accurate and detailed identification requires a comprehensive database of the relevant plant DNA, which may require collection of botanical specimens from the study site. Although this method cannot be used to quantify true abundance or proportion of plant species, nor plant parts consumed, it ultimately provides a very important first step 24 There is an urgent need to identify and understand the ecosystem services provided by threatened 25 animal species such as flying foxes. The first step towards this is to obtain comprehensive data 26 on their diet. However, the volant and nocturnal nature of flying foxes presents a challenging 27 situation, and conventional microhistological approaches to studying their diet can be laborious 28 and time-consuming, and provide incomplete information. We used Illumina Next-Generation 29 Sequencing (NGS) as a novel, non-invasive method for analysing the diet of the island flying fox 30 (Pteropus hypomelanus) on Tioman Island, Peninsular Malaysia. Through NGS analysis of 31 flying fox droppings over eight months, we identified at least 29 Operationally Taxonomic Units 32 comprising the diet of this giant pteropodid, spanning 19 genera and 18 different plant families, 33 including one new family not previously recorded for pteropodid diet. NGS was just as 34 successful as conventional microhistological analysis in detecting plant taxa from droppings, but 35 also uncovered six additional plant taxa. The island flying fox's diet appeared to be dominated 36 by figs (Ficus sp.), which was the most abundant plant taxon detected in the droppings every 37 single month. Our study has shown that NGS can add value ...

No abstract

There is an urgent need to identify and understand the ecosystem services provided by threatened animal species such as flying foxes. The first step towards this is to obtain comprehensive data on their diet. However, the volant and nocturnal nature of flying foxes presents a challenging situation, and conventional microhistological approaches to studying their diet can be laborious and time-consuming, and provide incomplete information. We used Illumina Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) as a novel, non-invasive method for analysing the diet of the island flying fox (Pteropus hypomelanus) on Tioman Island, Peninsular Malaysia. Through NGS analysis of flying fox droppings over eight months, we identified at least 29 Operationally Taxonomic Units comprising the diet of this giant pteropodid, spanning 19 genera and 18 different plant families, including one new family not previously recorded for pteropodid diet. NGS was just as successful as conventional microhistological analysis in detecting plant taxa from droppings, but also uncovered six additional plant taxa. The island flying fox’s diet appeared to be dominated by figs (Ficus sp.), which was the most abundant plant taxon detected in the droppings every single month. Our study has shown that NGS can add value to the conventional microhistological approach in identifying food plant species from flying fox droppings. However, accurate and detailed identification requires a comprehensive database of the relevant plant DNA, which may require collection of botanical specimens from the study site. Although this method cannot be used to quantify true abundance or proportion of plant species, nor plant parts consumed, it ultimately provides a very important first step towards identifying plant taxa in pteropodid diet.