Using faecal DNA metabarcoding to determine the diet of the long-tailed bat,
            <i>Chalinolobus tuberculatus</i>

We conducted diet analysis of four species of leaf-nosed bats (Hipposideros hypophyllus, H. durgadasi, H. fulvus, and H. speoris) cohabiting a roost in the Kolar district, Karnataka, India using metabarcoding fecal DNA technique. We collected fecal pellets of these bats returning to the roost after the first feeding bout over different seasons. The whole diet of all these species consisted of 7,309 OTUs belonging to phylum Arthropoda. Although no significant difference among the whole diets of the four species was found, H. hypophyllus consumed the most amount of insect taxa (4,114 species) compared to others. The core diets consisted of 49 taxa belonging to 10 orders, 37 families, 46 genera. A significant difference was found among the core diets, with H. hypophyllus and H. speoris feeding on more varied insects. There was no overlap in diets and the bat species were observed to be diet specialists. Prey items belonging to orders Lepidoptera and Diptera were abundant in the diet of all four species of bats. The core diet of H. hypophyllus varied significantly between the seasons, with greater than 70% intake of lepidopteran insects in the monsoon and winter seasons. Our study reveals that these bats feed on insect pests too thus playing a role as biocontrollers.

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Assessment of Multiple Citizen Science Methods and Carbon Footprint of Tourists in Two Australian Marine Parks

Smith,

DiBattista,

Tol

et al. 2024

Sustainability

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Citizen or community science (CS) projects in the marine environment rarely consider carbon footprint and sustainability. In this case study, we assessed the effectiveness of ten CS methods used by tourists in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP) and Coral Sea Marine Park (CSMP) who participated in the 2023 Citizen Science of the Great Barrier Reef expedition and the carbon footprint associated with these field methods. We also assessed the baseline coral reef knowledge of the tourists, observations of marine species, and the communication of our results to the public. Specifically, the tourists utilised up to ten methods: iNaturalist, CoralWatch, Great Barrier Reef Census, Eye on the Reef (EoR), environmental DNA (eDNA) testing kits, photogrammetry, social surveys, and Red Map, as well as marine debris and marine vegetation collections. A total of 10,421 data points were collected across 14 days, including 5390 records (52% of the total) uploaded to iNaturalist, comprising 640 plant and animal species. Public awareness of the CS expedition reached over 700,000 people based on estimates from advertising, media, social media, family and friends, and conference presentations. We estimated the total carbon footprint for the expedition as 268.7 tonnes of CO2 or 4.47 tonnes of CO2 per person, equivalent to AUD 112 needed to offset this input. Based on these results, our recommendations to leverage CS methods include governmental review strategies, temporal replication to allow for the measurement of changes through time, integrating sustainability into CS ecotourism platforms, and encouraging broad participation.

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Using faecal DNA metabarcoding to determine the diet of the long-tailed bat, Chalinolobus tuberculatus

Cited by 3 publications

References 23 publications

Bat box monitoring: testing the efficacy of eDNA to confirm box use

Bat box monitoring: testing the efficacy of eDNA to confirm box use

Molecular diet analysis using fecal DNA metabarcoding reveals the whole and the core diet of the critically endangered Kolar leaf-nosed bat Hipposideros hypophyllus and its congeners

Assessment of Multiple Citizen Science Methods and Carbon Footprint of Tourists in Two Australian Marine Parks

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