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Article: DNA Metabarcoding revealed interspecific dietary difference and prey selectivity in juvenile Horseshoe Crabs Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda and Tachypleus tridentatus from Hong Kong

TitleDNA Metabarcoding revealed interspecific dietary difference and prey selectivity in juvenile Horseshoe Crabs Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda and Tachypleus tridentatus from Hong Kong
Authors
Keywordsdiet
conservation
horseshoe crabs
Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda
Tachypleus tridentatus
Issue Date2021
PublisherFrontiers Research Foundation. The Journal's web site is located at http://www.frontiersin.org/Marine_Science
Citation
Frontiers in Marine Science, 2021, v. 8, p. article no. 752806 How to Cite?
AbstractHorseshoe crabs provide important ecological services including bioturbation and linking of food web in the shallow waters, but their populations are declining globally, leading to major concerns on conservation of these iconic animals. Baseline information of horseshoe crab ecology, such as their trophic role and food source, is pre-requisite for habitat protection plan and captive restocking program. Trophic ecology of Asian horseshoe crabs is relatively poorly understood and previous studies on their juveniles have suggested that they are selective feeders rather than opportunistic generalists. This study demonstrates a non-invasive approach, using DNA metabarcoding analyses of the nuclear 18S rRNA gene on fecal samples to assess the dietary compositions of Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda and Tachypleus tridentatus juveniles to (1) determine their dietary compositions and trophic roles in their ecosystem, (2) determine any prey selectivity, and (3) distinguish the interspecific dietary differences with potential implications on the habitat requirement and ecological partitioning between these two horseshoe crab species. The results based on relative read abundance (RRA) suggested that oligochaetes were the major prey items for both C. rotundicauda (41.6%) and T. tridentatus (32.4%). Bivalves and crustaceans were second major prey groups for C. rotundicauda (8.6 and 8.4%, respectively). Surprisingly, anthozoans contributed a considerable portion of T. tridentatus’s diet (22.8%), which has never been reported. Furthermore, the major prey groups identified in the fecal samples were not the dominant benthic organisms in the studied area as revealed by environmental DNA (eDNA) analyses on the sediment samples, implying that both species are selective feeders rather than dietary generalists. Significant differences observed in the dietary compositions of the two species might be partially due to the difference in habitat preference between the two species. This study provides new insights into the trophic ecology of the two Asian horseshoe crab species in the estuarine habitat and establishes a new framework for future detailed molecular dietary analyses on all developmental stages of horseshoe crabs around the world, which will allow us to evaluate the food sources needed for the survival of horseshoe crabs and facilitate future conservation strategies without killing the animals.
Persistent Identifierhttp://hdl.handle.net/10722/306891
ISSN
2023 Impact Factor: 2.8
2023 SCImago Journal Rankings: 0.907
ISI Accession Number ID

 

DC FieldValueLanguage
dc.contributor.authorLEE, BY-
dc.contributor.authorWakabayashi, K-
dc.contributor.authorSin, SYW-
dc.contributor.authorOhtsuka, S-
dc.contributor.authorTsang, LM-
dc.date.accessioned2021-10-22T07:41:05Z-
dc.date.available2021-10-22T07:41:05Z-
dc.date.issued2021-
dc.identifier.citationFrontiers in Marine Science, 2021, v. 8, p. article no. 752806-
dc.identifier.issn2296-7745-
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10722/306891-
dc.description.abstractHorseshoe crabs provide important ecological services including bioturbation and linking of food web in the shallow waters, but their populations are declining globally, leading to major concerns on conservation of these iconic animals. Baseline information of horseshoe crab ecology, such as their trophic role and food source, is pre-requisite for habitat protection plan and captive restocking program. Trophic ecology of Asian horseshoe crabs is relatively poorly understood and previous studies on their juveniles have suggested that they are selective feeders rather than opportunistic generalists. This study demonstrates a non-invasive approach, using DNA metabarcoding analyses of the nuclear 18S rRNA gene on fecal samples to assess the dietary compositions of Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda and Tachypleus tridentatus juveniles to (1) determine their dietary compositions and trophic roles in their ecosystem, (2) determine any prey selectivity, and (3) distinguish the interspecific dietary differences with potential implications on the habitat requirement and ecological partitioning between these two horseshoe crab species. The results based on relative read abundance (RRA) suggested that oligochaetes were the major prey items for both C. rotundicauda (41.6%) and T. tridentatus (32.4%). Bivalves and crustaceans were second major prey groups for C. rotundicauda (8.6 and 8.4%, respectively). Surprisingly, anthozoans contributed a considerable portion of T. tridentatus’s diet (22.8%), which has never been reported. Furthermore, the major prey groups identified in the fecal samples were not the dominant benthic organisms in the studied area as revealed by environmental DNA (eDNA) analyses on the sediment samples, implying that both species are selective feeders rather than dietary generalists. Significant differences observed in the dietary compositions of the two species might be partially due to the difference in habitat preference between the two species. This study provides new insights into the trophic ecology of the two Asian horseshoe crab species in the estuarine habitat and establishes a new framework for future detailed molecular dietary analyses on all developmental stages of horseshoe crabs around the world, which will allow us to evaluate the food sources needed for the survival of horseshoe crabs and facilitate future conservation strategies without killing the animals.-
dc.languageeng-
dc.publisherFrontiers Research Foundation. The Journal's web site is located at http://www.frontiersin.org/Marine_Science-
dc.relation.ispartofFrontiers in Marine Science-
dc.rightsThis Document is Protected by copyright and was first published by Frontiers. All rights reserved. It is reproduced with permission.-
dc.rightsThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.-
dc.subjectdiet-
dc.subjectconservation-
dc.subjecthorseshoe crabs-
dc.subjectCarcinoscorpius rotundicauda-
dc.subjectTachypleus tridentatus-
dc.titleDNA Metabarcoding revealed interspecific dietary difference and prey selectivity in juvenile Horseshoe Crabs Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda and Tachypleus tridentatus from Hong Kong-
dc.typeArticle-
dc.identifier.emailSin, SYW: sinyw@hku.hk-
dc.identifier.authoritySin, SYW=rp02377-
dc.description.naturepublished_or_final_version-
dc.identifier.doi10.3389/fmars.2021.752806-
dc.identifier.scopuseid_2-s2.0-85118280265-
dc.identifier.hkuros329053-
dc.identifier.volume8-
dc.identifier.spagearticle no. 752806-
dc.identifier.epagearticle no. 752806-
dc.identifier.isiWOS:000713828300001-
dc.publisher.placeSwitzerland-

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