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Fecal eDNA metabarcoding reveals diet overlap in three sympatric large vertebrates: red deer, brown bear and capercaillie
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DOI：10.1016/j.gecco.2026.e04296.png)
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Abstract
En 中文
Across Europe, wild ungulates’ populations are increasing, affecting their habitats and vegetation by its massive consumption, notably through browsing. This altered vegetation may impact other plant consumers (herbivores and omnivores) that depend upon the same resources at certain times of the year for vegetative parts or fruits. This potential competition may be detrimental for small and fragile animal populations. In this study, we investigated the plant-based diet overlap between sympatric populations of red deer, a large game ungulate, brown bear, a large endangered omnivore, and capercaillie, an elusive threatened bird, in the Pyrenees mountains, using a faecal metabarcoding-based approach. Among the plant genera identified, 68% were shared between red deer and at least one of the other two threatened species. We highlighted a high overlap of consumed plant genera between red deer and brown bear (0.66) but also between brown bear and capercaillie (0.57) and red deer and capercaillie (0.45). This was mainly driven by fleshy-fruited plants including Rubus and Vaccinium, whereas dry-fruited woody plants were rather consumed by the capercaillie and various forbs and grasses by the red deer and the brown bear. Moreover, the red deer consumed a high diversity of plants per faeces, whereas the brown bear displayed the most diverse plant diet. The browsing by red deer of Vaccinium may reduce this key resource for brown bear and capercaillie, potentially impacting their body mass or reproduction. In the context of increasing populations of ungulates all over Europe, our study invites further investigation into the effect of their browsing on other megafauna populations, especially threatened ones.
Keywords:
Food competition
Vaccinium
Cervus elaphus
Ursus arctos
Tetrao urogallus
Endangered species
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