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Table for five, please: Dietary partitioning in boreal bats.

ABSTRACT: Differences in diet can explain resource partitioning in apparently similar, sympatric species. Here, we analyzed 1,252 fecal droppings from five species (Eptesicus nilssonii, Myotis brandtii, M. daubentonii, M. mystacinus, and Plecotus auritus) to reveal their dietary niches using fecal DNA metabarcoding. We identified nearly 550 prey species in 13 arthropod orders. Two main orders (Diptera and Lepidoptera) formed the majority of the diet for all species, constituting roughly 80%-90% of the diet. All five species had different dietary assemblages. We also found significant differences in the size of prey species between the bat species. Our results on diet composition remain mostly unchanged when using either read counts as a proxy for quantitative diet or presence-absence data, indicating a strong biological pattern. We conclude that although bats share major components in their ecology (nocturnal life style, insectivory, and echolocation), species differ in feeding behavior, suggesting bats may have distinctive evolutionary strategies. Diet analysis helps illuminate life history traits of various species, adding to sparse ecological knowledge, which can be utilized in conservation planning.

SUBMITTER: Vesterinen EJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6262732 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Table for five, please: Dietary partitioning in boreal bats.

Vesterinen Eero J EJ Puisto Anna I E AIE Blomberg Anna S AS Lilley Thomas M TM

Ecology and evolution 20181012 22

Differences in diet can explain resource partitioning in apparently similar, sympatric species. Here, we analyzed 1,252 fecal droppings from five species (<i>Eptesicus nilssonii, Myotis brandtii, M. daubentonii, M. mystacinus</i>, and <i>Plecotus auritus</i>) to reveal their dietary niches using fecal DNA metabarcoding. We identified nearly 550 prey species in 13 arthropod orders. Two main orders (Diptera and Lepidoptera) formed the majority of the diet for all species, constituting roughly 80%- ...[more]

PMID: 30519417

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Project description:Isolation by distance (IBD) is a natural pattern not readily incorporated into theoretical models nor traditional metrics for differentiating populations, although clinal genetic differentiation can be characteristic of many wildlife species. Landscape features can also drive population structure additive to baseline IBD resulting in differentiation through isolation-by-resistance (IBR). We assessed the population genetic structure of boreal caribou across western Canada using nonspatial (STRUCTURE) and spatial (MEMGENE) clustering methods and investigated the relative contribution of IBD and IBR on genetic variation of 1,221 boreal caribou multilocus genotypes across western Canada. We further introduced a novel approach to compare the partitioning of individuals into management units (MU) and assessed levels of genetic connectivity under different MU scenarios. STRUCTURE delineated five genetic clusters while MEMGENE identified finer-scale differentiation across the study area. IBD was significant and did not differ for males and females both across and among detected genetic clusters. MEMGENE landscape analysis further quantified the proportion of genetic variation contributed by IBD and IBR patterns, allowing for the relative importance of spatial drivers, including roads, water bodies, and wildfires, to be assessed and incorporated into the characterization of population structure for the delineation of MUs. Local population units, as currently delineated in the boreal caribou recovery strategy, do not capture the genetic variation and connectivity of the ecotype across the study area. Here, we provide the tools to assess fine-scale spatial patterns of genetic variation, partition drivers of genetic variation, and evaluate the best management options for maintaining genetic connectivity. Our approach is highly relevant to vagile wildlife species that are of management and conservation concern and demonstrate varying degrees of IBD and IBR with clinal spatial genetic structure that challenges the delineation of discrete population boundaries.

Dataset Information

Table for five, please: Dietary partitioning in boreal bats.

Publications

Table for five, please: Dietary partitioning in boreal bats.

Similar Datasets

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