Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31329604›Full record

ArticlePloS one2019

Combining stable isotope analysis with DNA metabarcoding improves inferences of trophic ecology.

Melissa R L Whitaker, Christopher C M Baker, Shayla M Salzman, Dino J Martins, Naomi E Pierce

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
2.2field-weighted citation impact, top 12% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 24 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 1 institution in 3 countries.

Melissa R L WhitakerMuseum of Comparative Zoology, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0002-8774-8518
Christopher C M BakerMuseum of Comparative Zoology, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0002-2675-1078
Shayla M SalzmanMuseum of Comparative Zoology, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States of America.
Dino J MartinsMuseum of Comparative Zoology, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States of America.
Naomi E PierceMuseum of Comparative Zoology, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States of America.
Harvard University · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Knowing what animals eat is fundamental to our ability to understand and manage biodiversity and ecosystems, but researchers often must rely on indirect methods to infer trophic position and food intake. Using an approach that combines evidence from stable isotope analysis and DNA metabarcoding, we assessed the diet and trophic position of Anthene usamba butterflies, for which there are no known direct observations of larval feeding. An earlier study that analyzed adults rather than caterpillars of A. usamba inferred that this butterfly was aphytophagous, but we found that the larval guts of A. usamba and two known herbivorous lycaenid species contain chloroplast 16S sequences. Moreover, chloroplast barcoding revealed high sequence similarity between chloroplasts found in A. usamba guts and the chloroplasts of the Vachellia drepanolobium trees on which the caterpillars live. Stable isotope analysis provided further evidence that A. usamba caterpillars feed on V. drepanolobium, and the possibilities of strict herbivory versus limited omnivory in this species are discussed. These results highlight the importance of combining multiple approaches and considering ontogeny when using stable isotopes to infer trophic ecology where direct observations are difficult or impossible.

Indexed as

DietEcosystemAnimalsAntsButterfliesCarbon IsotopesDNA Barcoding, TaxonomicDNA, ChloroplastFabaceaeGastrointestinal MicrobiomeHerbivoryLarvaNitrogen IsotopesSymbiosisCarbon IsotopesDNA, ChloroplastNitrogen Isotopes

Identifiers

PMID31329604
PMCPMC6645532
OpenAlexW2963053563

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.