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Full-Text Articles in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Development Of A Molecular Genetic Method For Characterizing Amphibian Diets, Alexander T. Funk
Development Of A Molecular Genetic Method For Characterizing Amphibian Diets, Alexander T. Funk
EURēCA: Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement
DEVELOPMENT OF A MOLECULAR GENETIC METHOD FOR CHARACTERIZING AMPHIBIAN DIETS.Alexander Funk* and Todd W. Pierson, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee Knoxville, afunk4@vols.utk.edu
Dietary studies can provide key insights into the ecology and behavior of animals. Methods common in dietary studies of amphibians (e.g., gastric lavage, fecal analysis, dissection) often fail to identify prey beyond the level of Order, are time intensive, and can be biased against soft-bodied prey. Here, we are developing a DNA metabarcoding assay to characterize amphibian diets from non-invasive fecal samples. In DNA metabarcoding, barcoding loci from mixed community samples (e.g., feces) …