Premium
Molecular analysis of the diets of snakes: changes in prey exploitation during development of the rare smooth snake C oronella austriaca
Author(s) -
Brown David S.,
Ebenezer Katie L.,
Symondson William O. C.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
molecular ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.619
H-Index - 225
eISSN - 1365-294X
pISSN - 0962-1083
DOI - 10.1111/mec.12475
Subject(s) - natrix , biology , predation , sympatric speciation , ecology , zoology , invertebrate , habitat , ophidia , venom
Reptiles are declining in many parts of the world, mainly due to habitat loss and environmental change. A major factor in this is availability of suitable food. For many animals, dietary requirements shift during developmental stages and a habitat will only be suitable for conserving a species if it supports all stages. Conventional methods for establishing diet often rely on visual recognition of morphologically identifiable features of prey in faeces, regurgitation or stomach contents, which suffer from biases and poor resolution of taxa. DNA ‐based techniques facilitate noninvasive analysis of diet from faeces without these constraints. We tested the hypothesis that diet changes during growth stages of smooth snakes ( C oronella austriaca ), which have a highly restricted distribution in the UK but are widespread in continental Europe. Small numbers of the sympatric grass snake ( Natrix natrix ) were analysed for comparison. Faecal samples were collected from snakes and prey DNA analysed using PCR , targeting amphibians, reptiles, mammals and invertebrates. Over 85% of smooth snakes were found to have eaten reptiles and 28% had eaten mammals. Predation on mammals increased with age and was entirely absent among juveniles and subadults. Predation on reptiles did not change ontogenetically. Smooth snakes may, therefore, be restricted to areas of sufficiently high reptile densities to support young snakes.