DNA metabarcoding reveals the threat of rapidly expanding barred owl populations to native wildlife in western North America
Biological Conservation, ISSN: 0006-3207, Vol: 273, Page: 109678
2022
- 7Citations
- 23Captures
Metric Options: Counts1 Year3 YearSelecting the 1-year or 3-year option will change the metrics count to percentiles, illustrating how an article or review compares to other articles or reviews within the selected time period in the same journal. Selecting the 1-year option compares the metrics against other articles/reviews that were also published in the same calendar year. Selecting the 3-year option compares the metrics against other articles/reviews that were also published in the same calendar year plus the two years prior.
Example: if you select the 1-year option for an article published in 2019 and a metric category shows 90%, that means that the article or review is performing better than 90% of the other articles/reviews published in that journal in 2019. If you select the 3-year option for the same article published in 2019 and the metric category shows 90%, that means that the article or review is performing better than 90% of the other articles/reviews published in that journal in 2019, 2018 and 2017.
Citation Benchmarking is provided by Scopus and SciVal and is different from the metrics context provided by PlumX Metrics.
Example: if you select the 1-year option for an article published in 2019 and a metric category shows 90%, that means that the article or review is performing better than 90% of the other articles/reviews published in that journal in 2019. If you select the 3-year option for the same article published in 2019 and the metric category shows 90%, that means that the article or review is performing better than 90% of the other articles/reviews published in that journal in 2019, 2018 and 2017.
Citation Benchmarking is provided by Scopus and SciVal and is different from the metrics context provided by PlumX Metrics.
Article Description
Invasive predators can have detrimental impacts on native species and biological communities through direct consumptive effects and indirect effects on trophic interactions, yet these relations are often poorly understood through the initial stages of predator expansion. Leveraging early, lethal collection efforts to study invasive barred owls ( Strix varia ) at the leading edge of their range expansion in northeastern California, we conducted DNA metabarcoding of intestinal samples to assess the diet of this invasive predator. Through the development of customized primers and this novel approach to observing owl diet, we screened the intestinal contents of 124 barred owls and detected a broad diet of 78 unique prey types (48 vertebrates and 30 invertebrates), including prey types undetected in previous methodologies. Mammals were the most consumed vertebrate class (frequency of occurrence = 65 %), followed by amphibians (32 %), birds (22 %), and reptiles (19 %). Diets differed regionally but were similar among ages and sexes and exhibited limited variation in response to local environmental conditions. Our work highlights the generalist predatory strategy of invasive barred owls, identifies numerous native species potentially threatened by their range expansion, and indicates that they will not serve as ecological replacements for congeneric spotted owls ( Strix occidentalis ) they displace. These findings suggest that expanding currently limited barred owl removals could benefit native species and communities in western North America. More broadly, we demonstrate DNA metabarcoding, combined with early intervention, provides a powerful tool for conducting detailed assessments of species consumed by invasive predators, potentially incentivizing conservation actions and improving outcomes.
Bibliographic Details
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320722002312; http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2022.109678; http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=85136140384&origin=inward; https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0006320722002312; https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2022.109678
Elsevier BV
Provide Feedback
Have ideas for a new metric? Would you like to see something else here?Let us know