An insight into the prey spectra and livestock predation by cheetahs in Kenya using faecal DNA metabarcoding

Copyright © 2020 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved..

Dietary composition is a fundamental part of animal ecology and an important component of population dynamics. Therefore, obtaining accurate information on what an animal consumes is important for conservation planning, especially for wild large carnivores that exist in human-dominated landscapes where they are prone to direct conflicts with local people. We used faecal DNA metabarcoding to identify the vertebrate taxa commonly predated on by cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) with an emphasis on domestic taxa and determine the drivers of livestock predation by cheetahs residing in the Maasai Mara and Amboseli ecosystems which are important population strongholds in southern Kenya. From 84 cheetah faeces that we analysed, a total of 14 prey taxa were identified, including birds, wild and domestic mammals. The livestock taxa identified in cheetah faeces occurred at moderate frequency (12.8%) and the results showed that livestock predation was influenced neither by the sex of the cheetah nor by season. In general, our study shows that cheetahs prey on a diverse range of prey taxa including birds, wild ungulates of various sizes and occasionally on domestic animals, and that the faecal DNA metabarcoding approach represents a valuable complement to traditional dietary analysis methods.

Medienart:

E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:

2020

Erschienen:

2020

Enthalten in:

Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:143

Enthalten in:

Zoology (Jena, Germany) - 143(2020) vom: 15. Dez., Seite 125853

Sprache:

Englisch

Beteiligte Personen:

Thuo, David [VerfasserIn]
Broekhuis, Femke [VerfasserIn]
Furlan, Elise [VerfasserIn]
Bertola, Laura D [VerfasserIn]
Kamau, Joseph [VerfasserIn]
Gleeson, Dianne M [VerfasserIn]

Links:

Volltext

Themen:

9007-49-2
Acinonyx jubatus
Amboseli
Carnivores
DNA
Diet
Human-wildlife conflicts
Journal Article
Maasai Mara
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Anmerkungen:

Date Completed 30.03.2021

Date Revised 30.03.2021

published: Print-Electronic

Citation Status MEDLINE

doi:

10.1016/j.zool.2020.125853

funding:

Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):

NLM317255967