Circum polar fecal DNA-based dietary studies of Arctic shorebird chicks

We use COI-metabarcoding of prey items in feces to determine arthropod diets of Arctic chicks of different shorebird species. Diet data are essential to construct trophic networks, and to establish the interaction strength between shorebirds and different arthropod prey taxa. Ignoring such information might lead to biased inferences regarding phenological mismatches. For instance, some arthropod taxa might be abundant in pitfall traps and might make a large contribution to the total biomass of arthropods in the Arctic tundra. However, if these taxa are not part of the diet of a shorebird species, they are not relevant to include in estimates of food availability. This project includes data from three different locations: North Siberia (Taymyr peninsula), Alaska and Greenland, and from the following bird species: three Red Knot subspecies, Curlew Sandpiper, Little Stint, Red-necked Phalarope, Red Phalarope, Dunlin, Ruddy Turnstone, and Ringed Plover.