Interspecific coprophagia by wild red foxes: DNA metabarcoding reveals a potentially widespread form of commensalism among animals.

ABSTRACT: Vertebrate animals are known to consume other species' faeces, yet the role of such coprophagy in species dynamics remains unknown, not least due to the methodological challenges of documenting it. In a large-scale metabarcoding study of red fox and pine marten scats, we document a high occurrence of domestic dog DNA in red fox scats and investigate if it can be attributed to interspecific coprophagia. We tested whether experimental artifacts or other sources of DNA could account for dog DNA, regressed dog occurrence in the diet of fox against that of the fox's main prey, short-tailed field voles, and consider whether predation or scavenging could explain the presence of dog DNA. Additionally, we determined the calorific value of dog faeces through calorimetric explosion. The high occurren

SUBMITTER: Waggershauser CN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9251403 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature