Analysis of winter diet in Guizhou golden monkey (Rhinopithecus brelichi) using DNA metabarcoding data

Abstract

The Guizhou golden monkey (Rhinopithecus brelichi) is a critically endangered wildlife species, and understanding its diet composition may be useful for assessing its feeding strategies. DNA metabarcoding was used to determine the dietary diversity of R. brelichi. DNA was extracted from 31 faecal samples and amplified chloroplast rbcL and mitochondrial COI DNA was sequenced using the Illumina NovaSeq platform. A comparative analysis of the sequences revealed that the five most abundant plant genera were Magnolia, Morinda, Viburnum, Tetradium and Eurya. In winter, R. brelichi mostly consumed shrubs, herbs and shrubs/trees according to the habit of plant genera with higher abundances comparatively. The five most abundant families in animal diet were Psychodidae, Trichinellidae, Staphylinidae, Scarabaeidae and Trichoceridae. This study is the first to show the composition of the winter animal diets of R. brelichi based on DNA metabarcoding. These results provide an important basis for understanding the diet of wild R. brelichi, which inhabits only the Fanjingshan National Nature Reserve, China.