Non-native ants drive dramatic declines in animal community diversity: A meta-analysis.

Non-native ants can cause ecosystem-wide ecological change, and these changes are generally assumed to be negative. Despite this, the evidence base has never been holistically synthesised to quantify whether and to what degree non-native ants impact native species diversity.In this study, we performed a meta-analysis of the effects of ant invasion on animal communities.

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

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.

Herbivorous dietary selection shown by hawfinch () within mixed woodland habitats.

Knowledge of diet and dietary selectivity is vital, especially for the conservation of declining species. Accurately obtaining this information, however, is difficult, especially if the study species feeds on a wide range of food items within heterogeneous and inaccessible environments, such as the tree canopy. Hawfinches (), like many woodland birds, are declining for reasons that are unclear.

Otterly delicious: Spatiotemporal variation in the diet of a recovering population of Eurasian otters () revealed through DNA metabarcoding and morphological analysis of prey remains.

Eurasian otters are apex predators of freshwater ecosystems and a recovering species across much of their European range; investigating the dietary variation of this predator over time and space, therefore, provides opportunities to identify changes in freshwater trophic interactions and factors influencing the conservation of otter populations. Here we sampled feces from 300 dead otters across England and Wales between 2007 and 2016, conducting both morphological analyses of prey remains and dietary DNA metabarcoding. Comparison of these methods showed that greater taxonomic resolution and breadth could be achieved using DNA metabarcoding but combining data from both methodologies gave the most comprehensive dietary description.

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

The diet of an individual animal is subject to change over time, both in response to short-term food fluctuations and over longer time scales as an individual ages and meets different challenges over its life cycle. A metabarcoding approach was used to elucidate the diet of different life stages of a migratory songbird, the Eurasian reed warbler () over the 2017 summer breeding season in Somerset, the United Kingdom. The feces of adult, juvenile, and nestling warblers were screened for invertebrate DNA, enabling the identification of prey species.