DNA metabarcoding suggests adaptive seasonal variation of individual trophic traits in a critically endangered fish - Archive ouverte HAL Accéder directement au contenu
Article Dans Une Revue Molecular Ecology Année : 2022

DNA metabarcoding suggests adaptive seasonal variation of individual trophic traits in a critically endangered fish

Hélène Vignes

Résumé

Dietary studies are critical for understanding foraging strategies and have important applications in conservation and habitat management. We applied a robust metabarcoding protocol to characterize the diet of the critically endangered freshwater fish Zingel asper (the Rhone streber). We conducted modelling and simulation analyses to identify and characterize some of the drivers of individual trophic trait variation in this species. We found that population density and ontogeny had minor effects on the trophic niche of Z. asper. Instead, our results suggest that the majority of trophic niche variation was driven by seasonal variation in ecological opportunity. The total trophic niche width of Z. asper seasonally expanded to include a broader range of prey. Furthermore, null model simulations revealed that the increase of between-individual variation in autumn indicates that Z. asper become more opportunistic relative to summer and spring, rather than being associated with a seasonal specialization of individuals. Overall, our results suggest an adaptive variation of individual trophic traits in Z. asper: the species mainly consumes a few ephemeropteran taxa (Baetis fuscatus and Ecdyonurus) but seems to be capable of adapting its foraging strategy to maintain its body condition. This study illustrates how metabarcoding data obtained from faeces can be validated and combined with individual-based modelling and simulation approaches to explore inter- and intrapopulational individual trophic traits variation and to test hypotheses in the conventional analytic framework of trophic ecology.
Fichier principal
Vignette du fichier
Molecular Ecology - 2022 - Villsen - DNA metabarcoding suggests adaptive seasonal variation of individual trophic traits in-2.pdf (1.72 Mo) Télécharger le fichier
Origine Publication financée par une institution

Dates et versions

hal-03793011 , version 1 (13-11-2022)

Licence

Identifiants

Citer

Kurt Villsen, Emmanuel Corse, Emese Meglécz, Gaït Archambaud-Suard, Hélène Vignes, et al.. DNA metabarcoding suggests adaptive seasonal variation of individual trophic traits in a critically endangered fish. Molecular Ecology, 2022, 31 (22), pp.5889-5908. ⟨10.1111/mec.16698⟩. ⟨hal-03793011⟩
83 Consultations
49 Téléchargements

Altmetric

Partager

Gmail Mastodon Facebook X LinkedIn More