Trophic rewilding: The diet of an opportunistic mesopredator

Samantha J. D. Shippley; Adrian D. Manning; Belinda A. Wilson; Jenny Newport; Teresa Neeman; Iain J. Gordon; Linda Neaves

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111004

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Trophic rewilding: The diet of an opportunistic mesopredator

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Trophic rewilding: The diet of an opportunistic mesopredator

Samantha J. D. Shippley, Adrian D. Manning, Belinda A. Wilson, Jenny Newport, Teresa Neeman, Iain J. Gordon and Linda Neaves

Biological conservation, Vol.302, 111004

2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111004

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Abstract

Biodiversity & Conservation

Ecology

Environmental Sciences

Environmental Sciences & Ecology

Life Sciences & Biomedicine

Science & Technology

Environmental rehabilitation and restoration

Genomics

Rehabilitation or conservation of terrestrial environments

Trophic rewilding aims to restore lost ecological functions and diversity by focusing on top-down regulation through predator reintroductions. Genetic-based diet studies can provide valuable insights into trophic interactions, and the wider impacts of reintroductions and rewilding. We investigated the diet of a reintroduced mesopredator (eastern quoll, Dasyurus viverrinus) using metabarcoding of faeces. We analysed both vertebrate (12S rRNA) and invertebrate (CO1) prey species. Unexpectedly, we found mammals dominated eastern quoll diet (55 % relative read abundance and 73 % frequency of occurrence), likely due to persistent drought conditions and a lack of competing ground-dwelling predators. Invertebrate prey was present in at least one third of all samples across all seasons, underscoring their continued importance as a food source. While trophic rewilding focusses on returning ecological function, complexities and unexpected outcomes can arise in novel environments, challenging our assumptions regarding niche and trophic interactions. DNA metabarcoding proved efficient in diet analyses, supporting its use in long-term rewilding studies to understand trophic interactions over time.

Details

Title: Trophic rewilding: The diet of an opportunistic mesopredator
Authors/Creators: Samantha J. D. Shippley (Author) - Supreme Council Of Health
Adrian D. Manning (Author) - Supreme Council Of Health
Belinda A. Wilson (Author) - Supreme Council Of Health
Jenny Newport (Author) - Supreme Council Of Health
Teresa Neeman (Author) - Supreme Council Of Health
Iain J. Gordon (Author) - Supreme Council Of Health
Linda Neaves (Author)
Publication Details: Biological conservation, Vol.302, 111004
Publisher: Elsevier Ltd.
Number of pages: 10
Identifiers: 991005786383607891
Murdoch Affiliation: Murdoch University
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article

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Citation topics: 3 Agriculture, Environment & Ecology; 3.64 Phylogenetics & Genomics; 3.64.2564 Environmental DNA
Web Of Science research areas: Biodiversity Conservation; Ecology; Environmental Sciences
ESI research areas: Environment/Ecology