Assessing springtime vertebrate prey of sympatric mesopredators in the southeastern United States using metabarcoding analysis

Youngmann, Jordan L.; Lance, Stacey L.; Kilgo, John C.; Ruth, Charles; Cantrell, Jay; D’Angelo, Gino J.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0293270

Assessing springtime vertebrate prey of sympatric mesopredators in the southeastern United States using metabarcoding analysis

Journal Article · Wed Oct 25 00:00:00 EDT 2023 · PLoS ONE

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0293270· OSTI ID:2471785

^[1]; Lance, Stacey L. ^[2]; Kilgo, John C. ^[3]; Ruth, Charles ^[4]; Cantrell, Jay ^[4]; D’Angelo, Gino J. ^[1]

Univ. of Georgia, Athens, GA (United States)
Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (SREL)
US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA), New Ellenton, SC (United States)
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, Columbia, SC (United States)

Coyotes (Canis latrans) colonized the eastern United States over the last century and formed a 3-species predator guild with bobcats (Lynx rufus) and gray foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) across much of the southeastern United States. Diets among the three species vary along with respective impacts on game species such as white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo). To determine predation impacts on vertebrate prey and dietary overlap in consumption of prey items, we assessed diets of coyote, bobcat, and gray fox during spring, coinciding with white-tailed deer fawning and wild turkey nesting and brood rearing. We sampled across three sites along the Savannah River in South Carolina from mid-May through mid-June of 2020–2021. We collected 180 scat samples along 295.9 kilometers (71.1–122.4 km/site) of unpaved secondary roads and used DNA metabarcoding to determine vertebrate diet items. We identified predator species of scat using DNA metabarcoding and species-specific mtDNA fragment analysis (153 were coyote, 20 bobcat, and seven gray fox). Overall, we found evidence that two species, coyote and bobcat, consumed deer while all three consumed turkeys. Frequency of deer in the diet varied across sites for coyotes from 62–86% and wild turkey was present with a frequency of occurrence of 9% for coyotes, 5% for bobcats, and 14% for gray fox. Vertebrate diet specialization was evident across predator species with high frequency of deer in coyote diets, rabbits and small mammals in bobcat diets, and herpetofauna in gray fox diets. During deer fawning and wild turkey nesting and brood rearing, dietary overlap appears to be mediated by disparate selection of prey items, which reduced competition among coyotes, bobcats, and gray foxes. Use of DNA metabarcoding may augment our understanding of dietary preferences within this predator guild by providing increased resolution of diet composition among important game species.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL), Aiken, SC (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: 89303321CEM000080

OSTI ID:: 2471785

Journal Information:: PLoS ONE, Journal Name: PLoS ONE Journal Issue: 10 Vol. 18; ISSN 1932-6203

Publisher:: Public Library of ScienceCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Assessing springtime vertebrate prey of sympatric mesopredators in the southeastern United States using metabarcoding analysis

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