Data from: From feces to data: a metabarcoding method for analyzing consumed and available prey in a bird-insect food web

dc.contributor.affiliationUniversity of Oulu - Rytkönen, Seppo
dc.contributor.affiliationUniversity of Helsinki - Vesterinen, Eero J.
dc.contributor.affiliationUniversity of Oulu - Westerduin, Coen
dc.contributor.affiliationUniversity of Oulu - Leviäkangas, Tiina
dc.contributor.affiliationUniversity of Helsinki - Vatka, Emma
dc.contributor.affiliationUniversity of Oulu - Mutanen, Marko
dc.contributor.affiliationUniversity of Oulu - Välimäki, Panu
dc.contributor.affiliationUniversity of Oulu - Hukkanen, Markku
dc.contributor.affiliationUniversity of Oulu - Suokas, Marko
dc.contributor.affiliationUniversity of Oulu - Orell, Markku
dc.contributor.authorRytkönen, Seppo
dc.contributor.authorVesterinen, Eero J.
dc.contributor.authorWesterduin, Coen
dc.contributor.authorLeviäkangas, Tiina
dc.contributor.authorVatka, Emma
dc.contributor.authorMutanen, Marko
dc.contributor.authorVälimäki, Panu
dc.contributor.authorHukkanen, Markku
dc.contributor.authorSuokas, Marko
dc.contributor.authorOrell, Markku
dc.coverage.spatialFinland
dc.date.accessioned2025-03-24T15:18:54Z
dc.date.issued2018-12-24
dc.date.issued2018-12-24
dc.descriptionDiets play a key role in understanding trophic interactions. Knowing the actual structure of food webs contributes greatly to our understanding of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. The research of prey preferences of different predators requires knowledge not only of the prey consumed, but also of what is available. In this study, we applied DNA metabarcoding to analyze the diet of 4 bird species (willow tits Poecile montanus, Siberian tits Poecile cinctus, great tits Parus major and blue tits Cyanistes caeruleus) by using the feces of nestlings. The availability of their assumed prey (Lepidoptera) was determined from feces of larvae (frass) collected from the main foraging habitat, birch (Betula spp.) canopy. We identified 53 prey species from the nestling feces, of which 11 (21%) were also detected from the frass samples (8 lepidopterans). Approximately 80% of identified prey species in the nestling feces represented lepidopterans, which is in line with the earlier studies on the parids' diet. A subsequent laboratory experiment showed a threshold for fecal sample size and the barcoding success, suggesting that the smallest frass samples do not contain enough larval DNA to be detected by high-throughput sequencing. To summarize, we apply metabarcoding for the first time in a combined approach to identify available prey (through frass) and consumed prey (via nestling feces), expanding the scope and precision for future dietary studies on insectivorous birds.
dc.identifierhttps://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.4f1n785
dc.identifier.urihttps://hydatakatalogi-test-24.it.helsinki.fi/handle/123456789/10258
dc.rightsOpen
dc.rights.licensecc-zero
dc.subjectdietary ecology
dc.subjectAnthropocene
dc.subjectPoecile montanus
dc.subjectmetagenomics
dc.subjectfrass
dc.subjectinsectivorous birds
dc.subjectCyanistes caeruleus
dc.subjectParus major
dc.subjectFecal DNA
dc.subjectPoecile cinctus
dc.titleData from: From feces to data: a metabarcoding method for analyzing consumed and available prey in a bird-insect food web
dc.typedataset
dc.typedataset
Zenodo


: