A barcoding-based scat-analysis assessment of Eurasian otter Lutra lutra diet on Kinmen Island.

ABSTRACT: While it is well known that Eurasian otters principally feed on fishes and crustaceans, their detailed diet taxonomies are not fully understood. This is partly due to their nocturnal behavior and the limited resolving power of traditional morphological identification from scat. A suitable, reliable molecular method for diet studies is therefore needed.I performed a series of Sanger-sequencing reactions, utilizing nine primer sets for Eurasian otter diet research. These are mainly based on the barcoding concept to determine the taxonomic composition of spraints. The primer sets target different types of animals, amplifying each separately. This procedure was used to detect the prey contents of 64 spraint samples collected from Kinmen Island. Through high-resolution gel electrophoresis and s

SUBMITTER: Jang-Liaw NH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8258194 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature