Assessing springtime vertebrate prey of sympatric mesopredators in the southeastern United States using metabarcoding analysis

Coyotes (Canis latrans) colonized the eastern United States over the last century and formed a 3-species predator guild with bobcats (Lynx rufus) and gray foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) across much of the southeastern United States. Diets among the three species vary along with respective impacts on game species such as white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo). To determine predation impacts on vertebrate prey and dietary overlap in consumption of prey items, we assessed diets of coyote, bobcat, and gray fox during spring, coinciding with white-tailed deer fawning and wild turkey nesting and brood rearing. We sampled across three sites along the Savannah River in South Carolina from mid-May through mid-June of 2020-2021. We collected 180 scat samples along 295.9 kilometers (71.1 – 122.4 km/site) of unpaved secondary roads and used DNA metabarcoding to determine vertebrate diet items. We identified predator species of scat using DNA metabarcodin..., , , # Data from: Assessing springtime vertebrate prey of sympatric mesopredators in the southeastern United States using metabarcoding analysis

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Data includes DNA metabarcoding diet analysis from coyotes, bobcats, and gray foxes sampled at three sites in South Carolina during MayJune 2020-2021. We identified consensus predator species via DNA metabarcoding and mtDNA. We consolidated data into 8 categories of diet for frequency of occurrence analysis.

## Description of the Data and file structure

Data in file \"Youngmann et al_2023_data_PLOSONE.csv\" includes DNA metabarcoding sequence ID (Jvid), scat identification (SampleID), Year, Site, Latitude, Longitude, DNA metabarcoding predator species id (Ac12S), mitochondrial DNA predator species id (mtDNA), consensus predator species id (Consensus), and 8 categories of prey (Deer, Wild turkey, Rabbit, Squirrel, Small mammal, Avian, Herpetofauna, Other). The \"Jvid\" DNA metabarcoding sequence ID column is cross-referenced with the sample IDs i...