Multi-method diet analysis to investigate lobster predation on the barren-forming sea urchin Centrostephanus rodgersii

In Tasmania, Australia, the government's response to range-extending, barren-forming longspined sea urchin (Centrostephanus rodgersii) includes rebuilding of southern rock lobster (Jasus edwardsii) stocks to increase predation. But lobster preference for native species and continued barren expansion challenge the control efficacy. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the impact of lobster predation on C. rodgersii in different coastal habitats using a multi-method dietary analysis comprising 1) stomach contents analysis, 2) targeted DNA detection of prey species in faecal samples and 3) stable isotope analysis (d13C and d15N). The dataset contains diet information from 64 southern rock lobster (Jasus edwardsii) from five sites (four habitat types) in eastern Tasmania, Australia. Investigated prey species included: range-extending longspined sea urchins (Centrostephanus rodgersii), Shortspined sea urchin (Heliocidaris erythrogramma), periwinkle (Lunella undulata) and blacklip abalone (Haliotis rubra).

在澳大利亚塔斯马尼亚，政府针对分布范围扩张、导致海域荒漠化的长棘海胆（Centrostephanus rodgersii）采取的应对措施包括重建南部岩龙虾（Jasus edwardsii）种群以增强捕食压力。但龙虾对本地物种的偏好以及荒漠化区域的持续扩张，对该控制策略的有效性构成了挑战。因此，本研究旨在通过多方法膳食分析确定不同沿海生境中龙虾捕食对C. rodgersii的影响，该分析方法包括：1）胃内容物分析；2）粪便样本中猎物物种的靶向DNA检测；3）稳定同位素分析（d13C和d15N）。该数据集包含来自澳大利亚塔斯马尼亚东部5个站点（4种生境类型）的64只南部岩龙虾（Jasus edwardsii）的膳食信息。研究的猎物物种包括：分布范围扩张的长棘海胆（Centrostephanus rodgersii）、短棘海胆（Heliocidaris erythrogramma）、滨螺（Lunella undulata）和黑唇鲍（Haliotis rubra）。