The menu varies with metabarcoding practices: A case study with the bat Plecotus auritus.

ABSTRACT: Metabarcoding of feces has revolutionized the knowledge of animal diets by providing unprecedented resolution of consumed resources. However, it is still unclear how different methodological approaches influence the ecological conclusions that can be drawn from such data. Here, we propose a critical evaluation of several data treatments on the inferred diet of the bat Plecotus auritus using guano regularly collected from various colonies throughout the entire active season. First and unlike previous claims, our data indicates that DNA extracted from large amounts of fecal material issued from guano accumulates yield broader taxonomic diversity of prey than smaller numbers of pellets would do, provided that extraction buffer volumes are adapted to such increased amounts of material. Second,

SUBMITTER: Andriollo T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6611578 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature