Quantifying Diets of Wildlife and Fish

Book excerpt: Quantifying Diets of Wildlife and Fish presents different techniques available to study animal diets. Ecologists determine animal diets to build natural history knowledge, test hypotheses in ecological theory and make informed management decisions for important ecosystems. Many researchers use techniques traditionally applied to the animals they study, rather than techniques with the greatest potential for the aims of each project. In an effort to encourage researchers to consider new approaches, this book focuses on the techniques, rather than on particular groups of organisms or specific environments. With contributions from leading ecologists, chapters explore experimental design, observational techniques (including new technologies), stomach contents and faecal analysis, eDNA, tracers and stable isotopes. They also cover the latest multivariate methods of analyses suitable for describing animal diets and feeding relationships, as well as testing hypotheses relevant to ecological theory, environmental management and biological conservation. The expert knowledge provided will encourage readers to look beyond the boundaries of their specialties, assist in testing important hypotheses and provide insights into management problems. The examples in this book cover a range of vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as different environments, to open these methods up for novice ecologists and stimulate lateral thinking in more experienced researchers.