Fish Gut Metabarcoding Detects Diets and Parasites Simultaneously

ABSTRACT Understanding the dietary habits and trophic niches of species is crucial for the conservation and management of species and ecosystems. Science‐based fisheries management requires large‐scale data of prey and parasites of fish species that enables the analysis of multitrophic interactions...

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Main Authors: Dilli Prasad Rijal, Per Arneberg, Tanja Hanebrekke, Torild Johansen, Daniela Sint, Michael Traugott, Mette Skern‐Mauritzen, Jon‐Ivar Westgaard
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2024-11-01
Series:Environmental DNA
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/edn3.70007
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author Dilli Prasad Rijal
Per Arneberg
Tanja Hanebrekke
Torild Johansen
Daniela Sint
Michael Traugott
Mette Skern‐Mauritzen
Jon‐Ivar Westgaard
author_facet Dilli Prasad Rijal
Per Arneberg
Tanja Hanebrekke
Torild Johansen
Daniela Sint
Michael Traugott
Mette Skern‐Mauritzen
Jon‐Ivar Westgaard
author_sort Dilli Prasad Rijal
collection DOAJ
description ABSTRACT Understanding the dietary habits and trophic niches of species is crucial for the conservation and management of species and ecosystems. Science‐based fisheries management requires large‐scale data of prey and parasites of fish species that enables the analysis of multitrophic interactions in an ecosystem. Using one of the commercially exploited beaked redfish (Sebastes mentella) from the Barents Sea, our study aims to understand its diet composition and parasites. We used 12S and COI markers to analyze the stomach and intestine contents of uncleaned, water‐cleaned, and bleach‐cleaned fish samples to also trace how external contamination affects diet analysis of fishes. We detected 19 potential prey taxa each of vertebrates and invertebrates from the guts of beaked redfish. While invertebrates were the major food source of redfish, our analysis indicated only two taxa of vertebrates that significantly contributed to the diet composition. In addition, we also detected two jellyfish species which were among the dominant prey taxa. Several parasites that have been frequently reported from redfish by visual examination were also detected by metabarcoding of gut contents. As in metabarcoding studies in general, it is important to build the reference libraries of fish parasites to fully harness the power of molecular approaches in achieving multi‐trophic interactions. We underscore that metabarcoding captures both the common prey as well as delicate taxa which may not be available for visual examinations such as jellyfishes or other cryptic taxa. Our study showcases the importance of gut metabarcoding in terms of simultaneous detection of diets and parasites.
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spelling doaj-art-5bd34e37d5a2431b93d282cc1b2cf80a2025-01-29T05:11:50ZengWileyEnvironmental DNA2637-49432024-11-0166n/an/a10.1002/edn3.70007Fish Gut Metabarcoding Detects Diets and Parasites SimultaneouslyDilli Prasad Rijal0Per Arneberg1Tanja Hanebrekke2Torild Johansen3Daniela Sint4Michael Traugott5Mette Skern‐Mauritzen6Jon‐Ivar Westgaard7Institute of Marine Research Tromsø NorwayInstitute of Marine Research Tromsø NorwayInstitute of Marine Research Tromsø NorwayInstitute of Marine Research Tromsø NorwayApplied Animal Ecology, Department of Zoology University of Innsbruck Innsbruck AustriaApplied Animal Ecology, Department of Zoology University of Innsbruck Innsbruck AustriaInstitute of Marine Research Bergen NorwayInstitute of Marine Research Tromsø NorwayABSTRACT Understanding the dietary habits and trophic niches of species is crucial for the conservation and management of species and ecosystems. Science‐based fisheries management requires large‐scale data of prey and parasites of fish species that enables the analysis of multitrophic interactions in an ecosystem. Using one of the commercially exploited beaked redfish (Sebastes mentella) from the Barents Sea, our study aims to understand its diet composition and parasites. We used 12S and COI markers to analyze the stomach and intestine contents of uncleaned, water‐cleaned, and bleach‐cleaned fish samples to also trace how external contamination affects diet analysis of fishes. We detected 19 potential prey taxa each of vertebrates and invertebrates from the guts of beaked redfish. While invertebrates were the major food source of redfish, our analysis indicated only two taxa of vertebrates that significantly contributed to the diet composition. In addition, we also detected two jellyfish species which were among the dominant prey taxa. Several parasites that have been frequently reported from redfish by visual examination were also detected by metabarcoding of gut contents. As in metabarcoding studies in general, it is important to build the reference libraries of fish parasites to fully harness the power of molecular approaches in achieving multi‐trophic interactions. We underscore that metabarcoding captures both the common prey as well as delicate taxa which may not be available for visual examinations such as jellyfishes or other cryptic taxa. Our study showcases the importance of gut metabarcoding in terms of simultaneous detection of diets and parasites.https://doi.org/10.1002/edn3.70007Coregonusdiet analysismetabarcodingparasitespreySebastes
spellingShingle Dilli Prasad Rijal
Per Arneberg
Tanja Hanebrekke
Torild Johansen
Daniela Sint
Michael Traugott
Mette Skern‐Mauritzen
Jon‐Ivar Westgaard
Fish Gut Metabarcoding Detects Diets and Parasites Simultaneously
Environmental DNA
Coregonus
diet analysis
metabarcoding
parasites
prey
Sebastes
title Fish Gut Metabarcoding Detects Diets and Parasites Simultaneously
title_full Fish Gut Metabarcoding Detects Diets and Parasites Simultaneously
title_fullStr Fish Gut Metabarcoding Detects Diets and Parasites Simultaneously
title_full_unstemmed Fish Gut Metabarcoding Detects Diets and Parasites Simultaneously
title_short Fish Gut Metabarcoding Detects Diets and Parasites Simultaneously
title_sort fish gut metabarcoding detects diets and parasites simultaneously
topic Coregonus
diet analysis
metabarcoding
parasites
prey
Sebastes
url https://doi.org/10.1002/edn3.70007
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