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28 results for “generalist diet”
Figure 4 in Optimal FOraging OF NeOtrOpical Otters (CarnivOra: Mustelidae) in an urban river and predOminance OF generalist and sedentary fish in their diet
Figure 4. Results of the Ivlev's selectivity index for the dataset from: (A) May 2006 to September 2007; (B) September 2006 to January 2007 (wet season); (C) February to August 2007 (dry season).
FIGURE 1 in Generalist diet of Microraptor zhaoianus included mammals
FIGURE 1. Holotype specimen of Microraptor zhaoianus (IVPP V 12330) with mammal foot gut contents. A, entire specimen. Box inset indicates the location of B and C. B, close-up view of mammal foot. C, illustration of visible bones: dark gray elements are Microraptor ribs, yellow bones are the articulated mammalian foot and light gray are unidentified bones. Note the juxtaposition of the foot over the inside of the left ribs and the overlap of the right ribs over the foot, particularly over digits II and III. Abbreviations: ast, astragalus; cal, calcaneum; mtI, metatarsal 1; nav, navicular; lr, left rib; rr, right rib. Scale bar in A equals 100 mm and in B and C equals 5 mm.
Spatio-temporal variation in diet among age and sex cohorts of a model generalist bird species, the Great Tit Parus major: new insights revealed by DNA metabarcoding
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Data associated with: A phylogenetic perspective on ecological specialisation reveals hummingbird and insect pollinators have generalist diets
<p>Specialisation in food resource use is a crucial process that fosters species coexistence in plant-animal networks, contributing to the maintenance of biodiversity, ecological complexity, and community stability. Notably, although there is a vast literature on ecological specialisation in pollination systems, the evolutionary similarity among the plant species visited by particular pollinators has been largely ignored. Here, we apply a robust phylogenetic approach to analyse whether the evolutionary relatedness of plant species is a significant factor in mediating pollinator visits and how it relates to the morphology of interacting species. We quantified ecological and clade specialisation of hummingbird and insect species in three mutualistic networks from the Costa Rican highlands and associated these metrics with species traits. We found that hummingbirds were overall ecologically more specialised than insects (i.e. visited a less diverse set of plant species). However, when evaluating the phylogenetic relatedness among the visited plant species, all hummingbird species and most insects had overdispersed diets, which indicates they visited phylogenetically distant plant species in the community. Moreover, a great proportion of these clade generalists visited plant species with a great variation in corolla length, showing a lack of preference for this morphological trait. Altogether, our results demonstrate that by incorporating plant phylogeny to network analysis, pollinator species were generalists and that corolla length weakly influences plant-pollinator interactions in the three studied networks. A phylogenetic perspective should occupy a central role in the study of specialisation since it contributes to understanding the interplay between ecological and evolutionary processes in mutualistic networks. Future research should focus on evaluating whether the phylogenetic structure of animal diets mediates patterns of interactions in different types of mutualisms and environmental contexts, linking these patterns to other floral traits. This knowledge may be valuable for deepening our comprehension of the underlying mechanisms shaping ecological networks.</p>
Data from: Temporal change in floral availability leads to periods of resource limitation and affects diet specificity in a generalist pollinator
<p class="Default"><span>Generalist species are core components of ecological networks and crucial for the maintenance of biodiversity. Generalised species and networks are expected to be more resilient, therefore understanding the dynamics of specialisation and generalisation in ecological networks is a key focus in a time of rapid global climate change. Whilst diet generalisation is frequently studied, our understanding of how it changes over time is limited. We explore temporal variation in diet specificity in the honeybee (<em>Apis mellifera</em>), using pollen DNA metabarcoding of honey samples, through the foraging season, over two years. We find that overall, honeybees are generalists that visit a wide range of plants, but there is temporal variation in the degree of specialisation. Temporal specialisation of honeybee colonies corresponds to periods of resource limitation, identified as a lack of honey stores. Honeybees experience a lack of preferred resources in June when switching from flowering trees in spring to shrubs and herbs in summer. Investigating temporal patterns in specialisation can identify periods of resource limitation that may lead to species and network vulnerability. Diet specificity must therefore be explored at different temporal scales in order to fully understand species and network stability in the face of ecological change.</span></p>
A nutrition-defense tradeoff drives diet choice in a toxic plant generalist
<p>Plant toxicity shapes the dietary choices of herbivores. Especially when herbivores sequester plant toxins, they may experience a tradeoff between gaining protection from natural enemies and avoiding toxicity. The availability of toxins for sequestration may additionally trade off with the nutritional quality of a potential food source for sequestering herbivores. We hypothesized that diet mixing might allow a sequestering herbivore to balance nutrition and defense (via sequestration of plant toxins). Accordingly, here we address diet mixing and sequestration of large milkweed bugs (<em>Oncopeltus fasciatus</em>) when they have differential access to toxins (cardenolides) in their diet. In the absence of toxins from a preferred food (milkweed seeds), large milkweed bugs fed on nutritionally adequate non-toxic seeds, but supplemented their diet by feeding on nutritionally poor, but cardenolide-rich milkweed leaf and stem tissues. This dietary shift corresponded to reduced insect growth but facilitated sequestration of defensive toxins. Plant production of cardenolides was also substantially induced by bug feeding on leaf and stem tissues, perhaps benefitting this cardenolide-resistant herbivore. Thus, sequestration appears to drive diet mixing in this toxic plant generalist, even at the cost of feeding on nutritionally poor plant tissue.</p>
Data associated with: A phylogenetic perspective on ecological specialisation reveals hummingbird and insect pollinators have generalist diets
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Data from: Temporal change in floral availability leads to periods of resource limitation and affects diet specificity in a generalist pollinator
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A nutrition-defense tradeoff drives diet choice in a toxic plant generalist
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Data from: Generalist predators function as pest specialists: Examining diet composition of spiders and ladybeetles across rice crop stages
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Spatial variation in diet-microbe associations across populations of a generalist North American carnivore
1. Generalist species, by definition, exhibit variation in niche attributes that promote survival in changing environments. Increasingly, phenotypes previously associated with a species, particularly those with wide or expanding ranges, are dissolving and compelling greater emphasis on population-level characteristics. 2. In the present study, we assessed spatial variation in diet characteristics, gut microbiome, and the association between these two ecological traits across populations of coyotes (Canis latrans). We highlight the influence of the carnivore community in shaping these relationships, as the coyote varied from being an apex predator to a subordinate, mesopredator across sampled populations. 3. We implemented a scat survey across three distinct coyote populations in Michigan, USA. We used carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotopic values to reflect consumption patterns and trophic level, respectively. Corresponding samples were also paired with 16S rRNA sequencing to describe the microbial community and correlate with isotopic values. 4. Though consumption patterns were comparable, we found spatial variation in trophic level among coyote populations. Specifically, δ15N was highest where coyotes were the apex predator and lowest where coyotes co-occurred with gray wolves (Canis lupus). 5. The gut microbial community exhibited marked spatial variation across populations with the lowest OTU diversity found where coyotes occurred at their lowest trophic level. Bacteriodes and Fusobacterium dominated the microbiome and were positively correlated across all populations. We found no correlation between δ13C and microbial community attributes. However, positive associations between δ15N and specific microbial genera increased as coyotes ascended trophic levels. 6. Coyotes provide a model for exploring implications of niche plasticity because they are a highly adaptable, wide-ranging omnivore. As coyotes continue to vary in trophic position and expand their geographic range, we might expect increased divergence within their microbial community, changes in physiology, and alterations in behavior. 05-May-2020
Data from: A combined mesowear analysis of Mexican Bison antiquus shows a generalist diet with geographical variation
Bison antiquus was one of the largest and most widely distributed megafaunal species during the Late Pleistocene in North America, giving rise to the modern plains bison in the middle Holocene. Despite the importance of the ancient bison, little is known about its feeding ecology. We employed a combination of extended mesowear, and mesowear III to infer the diet preference and habitat use of three Mexican samples of B. antiquus. Two northern samples from the Transmexican Volcanic Belt morphotectonic Province: La Piedad-Santa Ana and La Cinta-Portalitos, as well as one southern sample from the Sierra Madre del Sur morphotectonic province: Viko Vijin. We found that the northern Mexican samples were primarily non-strict grazers, while the southern sample displays a pattern consistent with mixer feeder habits. This suggests variability among the diets of these bison samples, caused by different paleoenvironments. This evidence complements the paleoenvironmental reconstructions in the studied localities; for the northern samples, open prairies composed of patches of woodland or shrubland and for the southern locality a fluvial floodplain with short-lived vegetation. In both scenarios, grasses (Poaceae) were non-dominant. The dietary habits of our samples of ancient bison in Mexico are the southernmost dietary inference for the species in North America and expand our knowledge of the dietary habits of Bison antiquus during the late Pleistocene.
Data from: A pragmatic approach to the analysis of diets of generalist predators: the use of next-generation sequencing with no blocking probes
Predicting whether a predator is capable of affecting the dynamics of a prey species in the field implies the analysis of the complete diet of the predator, not simply rates of predation on a target taxon. Here, we employed the Ion Torrent next-generation sequencing technology to investigate the diet of a generalist arthropod predator. A complete dietary analysis requires the use of general primers, but these will also amplify the predator unless suppressed using a blocking probe. However, blocking probes can potentially block other species, particularly if they are phylogenetically close. Here, we aimed to demonstrate that enough prey sequence could be obtained without blocking probes. In communities with many predators, this approach obviates the need to design and test numerous blocking primers, thus making analysis of complex community food webs a viable proposition. We applied this approach to the analysis of predation by the linyphiid spider Oedothorax fuscus in an arable field. We obtained over two million raw reads. After discarding the low-quality and predator reads, the libraries still contained over 61 000 prey reads (3% of the raw reads; 6% of reads passing quality control). The libraries were rich in Collembola, Lepidoptera, Diptera and Nematoda. They also contained sequences derived from several spider species and from horticultural pests (aphids). Oedothorax fuscus is common in UK cereal fields, and the results showed that it is exploiting a wide range of prey. Next-generation sequencing using general primers but without blocking probes provided ample sequences for analysis of the prey range of this spider and proved to be a simple and inexpensive approach.
Data from: Large‐scale molecular diet analysis in a generalist marine mammal reveals male preference for prey of conservation concern
Sex‐specific diet information is important in the determination of predator impacts on prey populations. Unfortunately, the diet of males and females can be difficult to describe, particularly when they are marine predators. We combined two molecular techniques to describe haul‐out use and prey preferences of male and female harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) from Comox and Cowichan Bay (Canada) during 2012–2013. DNA metabarcoding quantified the diet proportions comprised of prey species in harbor seal scat, and qPCR determined the sex of the individual that deposited each scat. Using 287 female and 260 male samples, we compared the monthly sex ratio with GLMs and analyzed prey consumption relative to sex, season, site, and year with PERMANOVA. The sex ratio between monthly samples differed widely in both years (range = 12%–79% males) and showed different patterns at each haul‐out site. Male and female diet differed across both years and sites: Females consumed a high proportion of demersal fish species while males consumed more salmonid species. Diet composition was related to both sex and season (PERMANOVA: R2 = 27%, p < 0.001; R2 = 24%, p < 0.001, respectively) and their interaction (PERMANOVA: R2 = 11%, p < 0.001). Diet differences between males and females were consistent across site and year, suggesting fundamental foraging differences, including that males may have a larger impact on salmonids than females. Our novel combination of techniques allowed for both prey taxonomic and spatiotemporal resolution unprecedented in marine predators.
Data from: Metabarcoding dietary analysis of coral dwelling predatory fish demonstrates the minor contribution of coral mutualists to their highly partitioned, generalist diet
Understanding the role of predators in food webs can be challenging in highly diverse predator/prey systems composed of small cryptic species. DNA based dietary analysis can supplement predator removal experiments and provide high resolution for prey identification. Here we use a metabarcoding approach to provide initial insights into the diet and functional role of coral-dwelling predatory fish feeding on small invertebrates. Fish were collected in Moorea (French Polynesia) where the BIOCODE project has generated DNA barcodes for numerous coral associated invertebrate species. Pyrosequencing data revealed a total of 292 Operational Taxonomic Units (OTU) in the gut contents of the arc-eye hawkfish (Paracirrhites arcatus), the flame hawkfish (Neocirrhites armatus) and the coral croucher (Caracanthus maculatus). One hundred forty-nine (51%) of them had species-level matches in reference libraries (>98% similarity) while 76 additional OTUs (26%) could be identified to higher taxonomic levels. Decapods that have a mutualistic relationship with Pocillopora and are typically dominant among coral branches, represent a minor contribution of the predators' diets. Instead, predators mainly consumed transient species including pelagic taxa such as copepods, chaetognaths and siphonophores suggesting non random feeding behavior. We also identified prey species known to have direct negative interactions with stony corals, such as Hapalocarcinus sp, a gall crab considered a coral parasite, as well as species of vermetid snails known for their deleterious effects on coral growth. Pocillopora DNA accounted for 20.8% and 20.1% of total number of sequences in the guts of the flame hawkfish and coral croucher but it was not detected in the guts of the arc-eye hawkfish. Comparison of diets among the three fishes demonstrates remarkable partitioning with nearly 80% of prey items consumed by only one predator. Overall, the taxonomic resolution provided by the metabarcoding approach highlights a highly complex interaction web and demonstrates that levels of trophic partitioning among coral reef fishes have likely been underestimated. Therefore, we strongly encourage further empirical approaches to dietary studies prior to making assumptions of trophic equivalency in food web reconstruction.
Data from: A combined mesowear analysis of Mexican Bison antiquus shows a generalist diet with geographical variation
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Data from: Jack of all trades masters novel host plants: positive genetic correlations in specialist and generalist insect herbivores expanding their diets to novel hosts
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Spatial variation in diet-microbe associations across populations of a generalist North American carnivore
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Data from: Large‐scale molecular diet analysis in a generalist marine mammal reveals male preference for prey of conservation concern
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Data from: Darwin’s finches and their diet niches: the sympatric coexistence of imperfect generalists
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