DNA metabarcoding to assess diet partitioning and feeding strategies on three syntopic lacertid lizards from Morocco

In this study we applied a metabarcoding approach based on COI and 16S rRNA amplicons to assess diet partitioning and feeding strategies in three syntopic lizards from Taza, Morocco: Scelarcis perspicillata chabanaudi, Scelarcis perspicillata pellegrini, and Podarcis vaucheri. In order to avoid competition, they are expected to consume different prey species because they occupy distinct trophic niches, employ different foraging strategies, and express different dorsal pigmentation patterns. The possibility to analyze consumed prey at the OTU level in this study allowed high taxonomic resolution and an accurate measure of prey diversity, which therefore, allowed the detection of differences among the studied lizards herein found.