Genetic identification for prey birds of the Endangered peregrine falcon ( Falco peregrinus )

Abstract

To reveal the dietary ecology of the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus), we conducted a molecular analysis for mitochondrial genes (COI and CYTB) to identify the prey species collected from a feeding place found on Sasu Island, South Korea. The results from noninvasive genetic analysis showed that the sequences obtained came from nine species of birds (Cuculus canorus, Eurystomus orientalis, Limosa limosa, Microscelis amaurotis, Oriolus chinensis, Phasianus colchicus, Sterna hirundo, Streptopelia orientalis, and Turdus pallidus). Five of the species (C. canorus, M. amaurotis, S. hirundo, S. orientalis, and T. pallidus) had previously been observed on this island, but the other four species (E. orientalis, L. limosa, O. chinensis, and P. colchicus) were newly identified as present. No mtDNA sequences of land animals such as amphibians, reptiles, and mammals were found in the dietary remains, suggesting that the peregrine falcon preys mostly on other birds rather than on other animals inhabiting Sasu Island. This island has rich avian diversity and abundant animal populations and therefore supplies sufficient dietary resources for the peregrine falcon. Our findings suggested that a DNA-based molecular method may be useful to identify the prey species of these birds and may be valuable in future studies of the Endangered peregrine falcon.

A powerful long metabarcoding method for the determination of complex diets from faecal analysis of the European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis, L. 1758)

“…HTS has been used to assess the diet composition of a wide taxonomic range of animals. Animals whose diets have been successfully investigated have included mammals (Buglione et al., 2018; De Barba et al., 2014; Esnaola et al., 2018; Robeson et al., 2017), birds (Crisol‐Martinìez et al., 2016; Han & Oh, 2018), reptiles (Caut et al., 2019; Kartzinel & Pringle, 2015; Koizumi et al., 2017), fish (Barbato et al., 2019; Harms‐Tuohy et al., 2016; Riccioni et al., 2018) and arthropods (Kamenova et al., 2018; Kennedy et al., 2020; Krehenwinkel et al., 2016). For most species, faecal samples, in contrast to stomach contents, can easily be obtained, with a minimal level of interaction and harm inflicted on the studied animal.…”

Falcon fuel: metabarcoding reveals songbird prey species in the diet of juvenile Merlins (Falco columbarius) migrating along the Pacific Coast of western North America

“…Much of what we currently understand is based on opportunistic observations and correlations of peak movement activity between migrant raptors and probable migrant prey at individual locations along a migration route (Aborn 1994, Nicoletti 1997. While DNA metabarcoding methods are increasingly being used to investigate the foraging ecology of various wildlife species when direct observations are not feasible (Pompanon et al 2012), few studies have focused on raptor diet using prey DNA (DeLong et al 2013, Han & Oh 2018, Nota et al 2019, Tobe et al 2020. To date, DNA metabarcoding remains an under-utilized technique for advancing the field of avian migration ecology.…”