High‐throughput sequencing of fecal DNA to identify insects consumed by wild W eddell's saddleback tamarins ( S aguinus weddelli , C ebidae, P rimates) in B olivia

Bibliographic Data

ID8315905
AuthorsElizabeth K Mallott (0000-0001-5446-8563, Department of Anthropology University of Illinois Urbana IL 61801, corresponding author), Ripan S Malhi (0000-0002-1484-0292, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign), P A Garber (0000-0003-0053-8356, Department of Anthropology University of Illinois Urbana IL 61801)
Year2015
Volume156
Issue3
Pages474-481
Publication date2015-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Physical Anthropology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-9483 • E-ISSN: 1096-8644
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/ajpa.22654
PMID25369770
OpenAlexW1797070843
LanguageEN
Citations received14
References cited49

The genus Saguinus represents a successful radiation of over 20 species of small‐bodied New World monkeys. Studies of the tamarin diet indicate that insects and small vertebrates account for ∼16–45% of total feeding and foraging time, and represent an important source of lipids, protein, and metabolizable energy. Although tamarins are reported to commonly consume large‐bodied insects such as grasshoppers and walking sticks (Orthoptera), little is known concerning the degree to which smaller or less easily identifiable arthropod prey comprises an important component of their diet. To better understand tamarin arthropod feeding behavior, fecal samples from 20 wild Bolivian saddleback tamarins (members of five groups) were collected over a 3 week period in June 2012, and analyzed for the presence of arthropod DNA. DNA was extracted using a Qiagen stool extraction kit, and universal insect primers were created and used to amplify a ∼280 bp section of the COI mitochondrial gene. Amplicons were sequenced on the Roche 454 sequencing platform using high‐throughput sequencing techniques. An analysis of these samples indicated the presence of 43 taxa of arthropods including 10 orders, 15 families, and 12 identified genera. Many of these taxa had not been previously identified in the tamarin diet. These results highlight molecular analysis of fecal DNA as an important research tool for identifying anthropod feeding patterns in primates, and reveal broad diversity in the taxa, foraging microhabitats, and size of arthropods consumed by tamarin monkeys. Am J Phys Anthropol 156:474–481, 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Arthropod · Biology · DNA sequencing · Feces · Foraging · Gene · Predation · Zoology · Amphibian and Reptile Biology · Ecology · Genetics · Primate Behavior and Ecology · Wildlife Ecology and Conservation

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub