Degree
Master of Science
Program
Biology
Supervisor
Dr. M. Brock Fenton
Abstract
Detailed identification of diet is imperative for investigations of community structure, pollination and seed dispersal. Using DNA barcoding, I studied the diets of Jamaican fruitbats and how they compared. I identified dietary constituents of three morphologically distinct bat species, Artibeus jamaicensis, Ariteus flavescens and Glossophaga soricina from 135 fecal samples collected in Cockpit Country, Jamaica. DNA barcoding identified 11 fruit taxa in the fruitbats' diets, seven more taxa than detected by traditional methods. Dietary overlap among fruitbat species was significantly high (O = 0.66, p<0.05) despite distinct morphologies but A. jamaicensis and G. soricina consumed some fruit taxa exclusively. A. jamaicensis (largest) had the broadest diet. Morphology alone did not partition the bats' diets. A canonical correspondence analysis also indicated that age, sex and reproductive status influence diet. I show that DNA barcoding is a high resolution tool for diet investigations of frugivores that enables effective dietary studies.
Recommended Citation
Hayward, Colin E., "DNA barcoding expands dietary identification and reveals dietary similarity in Jamaican frugivorous bats" (2013). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 1697.
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/1697