The predator-prey interactions within food chains are used to both characterize and understand ecosystems. Conventional methods of constructing food chains from visual identification of prey in predator diet can suffer from poor taxonomic resolution, misidentification, and bias against small or completely digestible prey. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology has become a powerful tool for diet reconstruction through barcoding of DNA in stomach content or fecal samples. Here we use multi-locus (16S and CO1) next-generation sequencing of DNA barcodes on the feces of Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica) chicks (n=65) and adults (n=64) and the stomach contents of their main prey, Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus, n=44) to investigate a previously studied food chain. We compared conventional and molecular-derived chick diet, tested the similarity between the diets of puffin adults and chicks, and determined whether herring prey can be detected in puffin diet samples. There was high variability in the coverage of prey groups between 16S and CO1 markers. We identified more unique prey with our 16S compared to CO1 barcoding markers (51 and 39 taxa respectively) with only 12 taxa identified by both genes. We found no significant difference between the 16S-identified diets of puffin adults (n=17) and chicks (n=41). Our molecular method is more taxonomically resolved and detected chick prey at higher frequencies than conventional field observations. Many likely planktonic prey of herring were detected in feces from puffin adults and chicks, highlighting the impact secondary consumption may have on the interpretation of molecular dietary analysis. This study represents the first simultaneous molecular investigation into the diet of multiple components of a food chain and highlights the utility of a multi-locus approach to diet reconstruction that is broadly applicable to food web analysis.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3865145PMC
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0083152PLOS

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

food chain
12
puffin adults
12
food chains
8
prey
8
next-generation sequencing
8
diet reconstruction
8
16s co1
8
diets puffin
8
adults chicks
8
food
6

Similar Publications

The extinction of species is a major threat to the biodiversity. Allee effects are strongly linked to population extinction vulnerability. Emerging ecological evidence from numerous ecosystems reveals that the Allee effect, which is brought on by two or more processes, can work on a single species concurrently.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Persistent prey species in the Lotka-Volterra apparent competition system with a single shared predator.

J Math Biol

January 2025

Department of Computer and Mathematical Sciences, Research Center for Pure and Applied Mathematics, Graduate School of Information Sciences, Tohoku University, Aramaki-Aza-Aoba 6-3-09, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi, 980-8579, Japan.

We analyze the Lotka-Volterra n prey-1 predator system with no direct interspecific interaction between prey species, in which every prey species undergoes the effect of apparent competition via a single shared predator with all other prey species. We prove that the considered system necessarily has a globally asymptotically stable equilibrium, and we find the necessary and sufficient condition to determine which of feasible equilibria becomes asymptotically stable. Such an asymptotically stable equilibrium shows which prey species goes extinct or persists, and we investigate the composition of persistent prey species at the equilibrium apparent competition system.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Antimicrobial Resistance Profiles of Isolated from Food Animal Carcasses During 2010-2023 in South Korea.

Foodborne Pathog Dis

January 2025

Department of Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, Bacterial Disease Division, Gimcheon-si, Republic of Korea.

Antimicrobial-resistant bacterial contamination of meat poses a significant global public health risk. We aimed to determine antimicrobial resistance profiles and trends of recovered from carcasses of healthy food-producing animals in South Korea during 2010-2023. In total, 4748 isolates obtained from cattle ( = 1582), pigs ( = 1572), and chickens ( = 1594) were assessed for susceptibility to 12 antimicrobials.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Phenotypic and genotypic characterization of antimicrobial resistance and virulence profiles of serotypes isolated from necropsied horses in Kentucky.

Microbiol Spectr

January 2025

Department of Veterinary Science, Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food, and Environment, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA.

Unlabelled: is a foodborne pathogen that poses a significant threat to global public health. It affects several animal species, including horses. infections in horses can be either asymptomatic or cause severe clinical illness.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of persistent organic pollutants that pose a growing threat to environmental and human health. Soil acts as a long-term reservoir for PFAS, potentially impacting soil biodiversity and ecosystem function. Earthworms, as keystone species in soil ecosystems, are particularly vulnerable to PFAS exposure.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!