Messy eaters: Swabbing prey DNA from the exterior of inconspicuous predators when foraging cannot be observed.

ABSTRACT: Complex coevolutionary relationships among competitors, predators, and prey have shaped taxa diversity, life history strategies, and even the avian migratory patterns we see today. Consequently, accurate documentation of prey selection is often critical for understanding these ecological and evolutionary processes. Conventional diet study methods lack the ability to document the diet of inconspicuous or difficult-to-study predators, such as those with large home ranges and those that move vast distances over short amounts of time, leaving gaps in our knowledge of trophic interactions in many systems. Migratory raptors represent one such group of predators where detailed diet studies have been logistically challenging. To address knowledge gaps in the foraging ecology of migrant raptors and

SUBMITTER: Bourbour RP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6374680 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature