Seasonal and ontological variation in diet and age‐related differences in prey choice, by an insectivorous songbird

Davies, Sarah; Vaughan, Ian P.; Thomas, Robert J.; Drake, Lorna E.; Marchbank, Angela; Symondson, William O. C.

doi:10.1002/ece3.9180

Cited by 11 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 96 publications

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“…DNA was extracted from fecal samples using the Qiagen QIAamp DNA Stool Mini Kit (Manchester, UK), following the protocol for pathogen detection with modifications by Davies et al (2022) designed to improve DNA yields from avian feces. The primer sets used in this study were selected based on their successful application in studies exploring avian diet (Dunn et al 2018, Stockdale 2018, Davies et al 2022.…”

Section: Dna Extraction and Pcrmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We used a combination of mlCOIintF (Leray et al 2013) and Nancy (Simon et al 1992) to amplify invertebrate DNA. This was following selection and modification by Stockdale (2018), for amplification of a 306-bp fragment of the cytochrome C oxidase subunit 1 (COI) region (Davies et al 2022).…”

Section: Dna Extraction and Pcrmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Extracted fecal samples underwent molecular identifier tagged (MID-tag) Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). This process involved labeling the forward and reverse primers with MIDtagged primers, with samples having a unique pairing of forward and reverse tags for sample identification post-sequencing (Brown et al 2014, Davies et al 2022. Reactions were conducted in an Applied Biosystems SimpliAmp™ 96-well thermocycler, with annealing temperatures optimized through temperature gradient PCRs in the same machine.…”

Section: Dna Extraction and Pcrmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The ITS2 PCRs comprised 15 minutes at 95 °C, followed by 40 cycles of 95 °C for 30s, 58 °C for 90s, 72 °C for 90s, followed by a final extension at 72 °C for 10 min. All COI PCRs were conducted according to Davies et al (2022).…”

Section: Dna Extraction and Pcrmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The bioinformatic pipeline followed Drake et al (2021) and Davies et al (2022). Trimming, aligning, and quality checks were conducted using FastP 0.20.0 (Chen et al 2018).…”

Section: Bioinformatics and Sequencingmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Using DNA metabarcoding to explore spatial variation in diet across European Hawfinch populations

Stenhouse¹,

Bellamy²,

Vaughan³

et al. 2023

JFO

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The investigation of diet in avian species is essential for understanding their ecology and local adaptations, as well as long-term conservation. This can be particularly challenging because of the wide distribution and high ecological plasticity of many bird species. Here, we focused on the Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes), which has shown variation in population trends. Across Europe, central and eastern European populations are moderately declining while western European populations are moderately increasing. Ecological drivers behind these differing trends are still unknown; one possibility is differences in diet, yet little research has been conducted into Hawfinch diet in mainland Europe or elsewhere. Dietary richness and variation are under-studied in woodland bird species, due primarily to challenges in accurately identifying plant and invertebrate taxa consumed. This study presents the first molecular dietary analysis of Hawfinch populations across two European countries. Faecal samples were collected between January and July of 2019 from Hawfinch caught at six artificial feed sites: two in Denmark and four in Germany. We successfully extracted DNA from 80 samples by amplifying plant Internal Transcribed Spacer 2 (ITS2) and invertebrate Cytochrome Oxidase Subunit 1 (COI) barcodes. A total of 35 plant and 37 invertebrate taxa were found, with plant and insect orders Fagales and Lepidoptera, respectively, the most frequently detected. Hawfinch dietary composition differed significantly between European countries, suggesting Hawfinch can make use of available food resources that are likely to differ spatially. Our study shows how DNA metabarcoding can be used to provide novel ecological information associated with under-studied bird species, thus providing essential information for future management and conservation of Hawfinch and their habitats.RESUMEN. El estudio de la dieta en especies de aves es esencial para entender su ecología y adaptaciones locales, así como su conservación a largo plazo. Esto puede ser particularmente difícil por las amplias distribuciones y la alta plasticidad ecológica que muestran varias especies de aves. Aquí nos enfocamos en Coccothraustes coccothraustes la cuál ha mostrado variación en tendencias poblacionales. A lo largo de Europa, las poblaciones del centro y del este están disminuyendo moderadamente mientras que las poblaciones del oeste están incrementando moderadamente. Los factores ecológicos detrás de esta diferencia en las tendencias son desconocidos hasta el momento; una posibilidad es la diferencia en la dieta, pero hay poca investigación en la dieta de C. coccthraustes en Europa continental o en cualquier otro lugar. La riqueza en la dieta y su variación ha sido poco estudiada en especies de aves de bosque, principalmente debido a retos relacionados con la correcta identificación de plantas e invertebrados consumidos. Este estudio presenta el primer análisis molecular de la dieta de las poblaciones de C. coccothraustes a lo largo de dos países europeos. Mu...

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Section: Dna Extraction and Pcrmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Dna Extraction and Pcrmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Dna Extraction and Pcrmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Dna Extraction and Pcrmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The bioinformatic pipeline followed Drake et al (2021) and Davies et al (2022). Trimming, aligning, and quality checks were conducted using FastP 0.20.0 (Chen et al 2018).…”

Section: Bioinformatics and Sequencingmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Using DNA metabarcoding to explore spatial variation in diet across European Hawfinch populations

Stenhouse¹,

Bellamy²,

Vaughan³

et al. 2023

JFO

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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Multi‐marker DNA metabarcoding reveals spatial and sexual variation in the diet of a scarce woodland bird

Stenhouse

Bellamy

Kirby

et al. 2023

Ecology and Evolution

Self Cite

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Avian diet can be affected by site‐specific variables, such as habitat, as well as intrinsic factors such as sex. This can lead to dietary niche separation, which reduces competition between individuals, as well as impacting how well avian species can adapt to environmental variation. Estimating dietary niche separation is challenging, due largely to difficulties in accurately identifying food taxa consumed. Consequently, there is limited knowledge of the diets of woodland bird species, many of which are undergoing serious population declines. Here, we show the effectiveness of multi‐marker fecal metabarcoding to provide in‐depth dietary analysis of a declining passerine in the UK, the Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes). We collected fecal samples from (n = 262) UK Hawfinches prior to, and during, the breeding seasons in 2016–2019. We detected 49 and 90 plant and invertebrate taxa, respectively. We found Hawfinch diet varied spatially, as well as between sexes, indicating broad dietary plasticity and the ability of Hawfinches to utilize multiple resources within their foraging environments.

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Fecal matters: implementing classical Coleoptera species lists with metabarcoding data from passerine bird feces

et al. 2023

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Diversity inventories are critical to creating accurate species range maps and estimating population sizes, which in turn lead to better informed landscape and wildlife management decisions. Metabarcoding has facilitated large-scale environmental diversity surveys. However, the use of a metabarcoding approach with bird feces to survey arthropod diversity is still relatively undeveloped. The aim of this study was to see if and how a metabarcoding approach with bird feces could contribute to a saproxylic Coleoptera survey of traditional insect traps. We compared two methods of surveying saproxylic Coleoptera diversity (metabarcoding birds feces and deploying traditional traps) over two elevations in a mountain system. The two methods caught different species and different levels of functional guild richness. The metabarcoding method successfully recorded both distinct and overlapping portions of diversity from traditional collections, and the approach was also effective in signaling the presence of both rare species and nine country records. Our results show that metabarcoding Passerine bird feces can be successful when used alongside traditional collection methods to capture a broad diversity of saproxylic Coleoptera. This method, however, has quantitative and qualitative limitations, including the inability to produce species abundance data as well as the generation of false positives and negatives due to biases within the metabarcoding pipeline. Implications for insect conservation As many terrestrial ecosystems lose insect diversity, insect diversity surveys are essential to understand the scope of the loss. Despite metabarcoding approach shortcomings, the declining costs and shorter survey and processing time required for this approach compared to traditional survey methods indicate that it can be a valuable addition to the toolkit for saproxylic Coleoptera diversity surveys.

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Seasonal and ontological variation in diet and age‐related differences in prey choice, by an insectivorous songbird

Cited by 11 publications

References 96 publications

Using DNA metabarcoding to explore spatial variation in diet across European Hawfinch populations

Using DNA metabarcoding to explore spatial variation in diet across European Hawfinch populations

Multi‐marker DNA metabarcoding reveals spatial and sexual variation in the diet of a scarce woodland bird

Fecal matters: implementing classical Coleoptera species lists with metabarcoding data from passerine bird feces

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