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Questioning the proverb ‘more haste, less speed’: classic versus metabarcoding approaches for the diet study of a remote island endemic gecko
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Orientador(es)
Resumo(s)
Dietary studies can reveal valuable information on how species exploit their habitats and
are of particular importance for insular endemics conservation as these species present
higher risk of extinction. Reptiles are often neglected in island systems, principally the
ones inhabiting remote areas, therefore little is known on their ecological networks.
The Selvagens gecko Tarentola (boettgeri) bischoffi, endemic to the remote and integral
reserve of Selvagens Archipelago, is classified as Vulnerable by the Portuguese Red
Data Book. Little is known about this gecko’s ecology and dietary habits, but it is
assumed to be exclusively insectivorous. The diet of the continental Tarentola species
was already studied using classical methods. Only two studies have used next-generation
sequencing (NGS) techniques for this genus thus far, and very few NGS studies have
been employed for reptiles in general. Considering the lack of information on its diet
and the conservation interest of the Selvagens gecko, we used morphological and
DNA metabarcoding approaches to characterize its diet. The traditional method of
morphological identification of prey remains in faecal pellets collected over a longer
period was compared with metabarcoding of samples collected during rapid surveys.
Molecular results revealed that this species is a generalist, feeding on invertebrate, plant
and vertebrate items, whereas the morphological approaches were unable to detect the
latter two. These results opened up new questions on the ecological role of the Selvagens
gecko that deserves to be further explored, such as the possible predation on seabirds,
plant services or trophic competition with the sympatric Madeira lizard Teira dugesii.
Metabarcoding identified a greater diversity of dietary items at higher taxonomic
resolution, but morphological identification enabled calculation of relative abundances
and biomasses of ingested arthropods, and detected a dietary shift on invertebrate
preys between seasons. Results of this study highlight the global applicability of rapid
metabarcoding surveys for understudied taxa on remote islands that are difficult to
access. We recommend using the metabarcoding approach, even if ‘speedy’ sampling
only is possible, but we must highlight that disregarding long-term ecological data may
lead to ‘hasty’ conclusion.
Descrição
Palavras-chave
Conservation, Tarentola (boettgeri) bischoffi, Gekkonidae, Selvagens archipelago, Macaronesia, Seasonality, Protected area Animal Behavior, Biodiversity, Conservation Biology, Ecology, Zoology
Contexto Educativo
Citação
Gil, V., Pinho, C. J., Aguiar, C. A. S., Jardim, C., Rebelo R. & Vasconcelos R. (2020). Questioning the proverb ‘ more haste , less speed ’: classic versus metabarcoding approaches for the diet study of a remote island endemic gecko, 1–25. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.8084
Editora
PeerJ