DNA Metabarcoding-based Evaluation of the Diet of Big Brown Bats (Eptesicus fuscus) in the Mid-Atlantic Region

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dc.contributor.authorDeeley, Sabrinaen
dc.contributor.authorKang, Linen
dc.contributor.authorMichalak, Pawelen
dc.contributor.authorHallerman, Eric M.en
dc.contributor.authorFord, W. Marken
dc.coverage.countryUnited Statesen
dc.date.accessioned2023-06-09T13:44:46Zen
dc.date.available2023-06-09T13:44:46Zen
dc.date.issued2022-12en
dc.description.abstractHigh-throughput DNA sequencing can generate large genetic datasets in a cost-effective manner. Although the diet of Eptesicus fuscus (Big Brown Bat) has been studied widely in natural and rural systems using visual identification of prey items in feces, our aim was to more completely assess diet using a metabarcoding approach across a wide urban-natural landscape gradient in the mid-Atlantic region. Concordant with our expectations and previous Big Brown Bat diet studies from visual identification, we observed a high abundance of Coleoptera (beetles) relative to other insect orders. Although a possible improvement over visual techniques for studying food habits, we suggest caution in interpreting metabarcoding results in diet studies. We noted observations of environmental or contaminant taxa within these data, and designed a stringent filtering method that we used to eliminate these taxa, but that also removed previously documented prey taxa from our dataset.en
dc.description.adminPublic domain – authored by a U.S. government employeeen
dc.description.notesThis work was supported by the National Park Service NRPP and WNS Support programs through Southern Appalachian and Chesapeake Bay Cooperative Ecosystem Study Unit grants P16AC00821 and P17AC01616 to the Virginia Tech Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation. Additional in-kind support was provided by the US Geological Survey Cooperative Research Unit program, Marine Corps Base-Quantico Natural Resources Department, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, and the District of Columbia Department of Energy and Environment. Special thanks to E. Barr, S. Freeze, and L. Rohrbaugh for collecting samples. Fieldwork was performed by T. Calhoun, S. Dermody, R. Lesagonicz, G. Mosley, A. Morrison, M. Sellers, A. Silvis, and H. Taylor. The participation of E. Hallerman was supported in part by the Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station through the National Institute for Food and Agriculture. The findings and conclusions in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the US Government.en
dc.description.sponsorshipNational Park Service NRPP and WNS Support programs through Southern Appalachian and Chesapeake Bay Cooperative Ecosystem Study Unit grants [P16AC00821, P17AC01616]; Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station through the National Institute for Food and Agricultureen
dc.description.versionPublished versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.eissn1938-5307en
dc.identifier.issn1092-6194en
dc.identifier.issue4en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/115393en
dc.identifier.volume29en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherEagle Hill Instituteen
dc.rightsPublic Domain (U.S.)en
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/en
dc.subjectreproductive conditionen
dc.subjectinsectivorous baten
dc.subjectforaging behavioren
dc.subjectfood-habitsen
dc.subjectpreyen
dc.subjecttrichopteraen
dc.subjectcornfieldsen
dc.subjectelateridaeen
dc.subjectcoleopteraen
dc.subjecthemipteraen
dc.titleDNA Metabarcoding-based Evaluation of the Diet of Big Brown Bats (Eptesicus fuscus) in the Mid-Atlantic Regionen
dc.title.serialNortheastern Naturalisten
dc.typeArticle - Refereeden
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten

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