Dietary competition between the alien A sian M usk S hrew ( S uncus murinus ) and a re‐introduced population of T elfair's S kink ( L eiolopisma telfairii )

Re‐introduction of rare species to parts of their historical range is becoming increasingly important as a conservation strategy. T elfair's S kinks ( L eiolopisma telfairii ), once widespread on Mauritius, were until recently found only on R ound I sland. There it is vulnerable to stochastic events, including the introduction of alien predators that may either prey upon it or compete for food resources. Consequently, skinks have been introduced to I le aux A igrettes, another small M auritian island that has been cleared of rats. However, the island has been invaded by A sian M usk S hrews ( S uncus murinus ), a commensal species spread by man well beyond its natural A sian range. Our aim was to use next‐generation sequencing to analyse the diets of the shrews and skinks to look for niche competition. DNA was extracted from skink faeces and from the stomach contents of shrews. Application of shrew‐ and skink‐specific primers revealed no mutual predation. The DNA was then amplified using general invertebrate primers with tags to identify individual predators, and then sequenced by 454 pyrosequencing. 119 prey MOTU s (molecular taxonomic units) were isolated, although none could be identified to species. Seeding of cladograms with known sequences allowed higher taxonomic assignments in some cases. Although most MOTU s were not shared by shrews and skinks, Pianka's niche overlap test showed significant prey overlap, suggesting potentially strong competition where food resources are limited. These results suggest that removal of the shrews from the island should remain a priority.