DNA metabarcoding reveals a broad dietary range for Tasmanian devils introduced to a naïve ecosystem
Cite this dataset
McLennan, Elspeth (2024). DNA metabarcoding reveals a broad dietary range for Tasmanian devils introduced to a naïve ecosystem [Dataset]. Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.2v6wwpzr1
Abstract
Top carnivores are essential for maintaining ecosystem stability and biodiversity. Yet, carnivores are declining globally and current in situ threat mitigations cannot halt population declines. As such, translocations of carnivores to historic sites or those outside the species’ native range are becoming increasingly common. As carnivores are likely to impact herbivore and small predator populations, understanding how carnivores interact within an ecosystem following translocation is necessary to inform potential remedial management and future translocations. Dietary analyses provide a preliminary assessment of the direct influence of translocated carnivores on a recipient ecosystem. We used a metabarcoding approach to quantify the diet of Tasmanian devils introduced to Maria Island, Tasmania, a site outside the species’ native range. We extracted DNA from 96 scats and used a universal primer set targeting the vertebrate 12S rRNA gene to identify diet items. Tasmanian devils on Maria Island had an eclectic diet, with 63 consumed taxa identified. Cat DNA was detected in 14% of scats, providing the first instance of cats appearing as part of Tasmanian devil diets either via predation or scavenging. Short-tail shearwaters and little penguins were commonly consumed, corresponding with previous surveys showing sharp population declines in these species since the introduction of Tasmanian devils. Our results indicate that the introduction of carnivores to novel ecosystems can be very successful for the focal species, but that commonly consumed species should be closely monitored to identify any vulnerable species in need of remedial management.
README: DNA metabarcoding reveals a broad dietary range for Tasmanian devils introduced to a naïve ecosystem
https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.2v6wwpzr1
Description of the data and file structure
This upload contains the fastq files generated via amplification with a 12Sv5 vertebrate primer pair and sequenced on a NextSeq 500 Sequencing system (Illumina, CA) and associated metadata used to identify the diets of Tasmanian devils on Maria Island, Tasmania.
Animals are anonymised with replicated denoted as "R". Each sample is indicated as coming from a known Tasmanian devil or collected from the ground and in which season the sample was collected is provided.
Code/Software
Analyse this data using OBITools and the filtering parameters listed in the Materials and Methods section of the associated article.
Funding
Australian Research Council, Award: LP140100508
Equity Trustees