Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41833999›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2026

Revealing seasonal dietary niche overlap among sympatric large carnivores using DNA metabarcoding.

Jessica R Patterson, Stéphanie Périquet-Pearce, Madeline H Melton, Brennan PetersonWood, Rubén Portas, Ortwin Aschenborn, Claudine Cloete, Laura E Peirson, Diana J R Lafferty, James C Beasley

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Article in Scientific reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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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

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Jessica R PattersonWarnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, Savannah River Ecology Lab, University of Georgia, P.O. Box Drawer E, Aiken, SC, 29802, USA. jessypatterson311@gmail.com.
Stéphanie Périquet-PearceOngava Research Centre, Private Bag 13 419, Southern Industrial, Windhoek, Namibia.
Madeline H MeltonWarnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, Savannah River Ecology Lab, University of Georgia, P.O. Box Drawer E, Aiken, SC, 29802, USA.
Brennan PetersonWoodWarnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, Savannah River Ecology Lab, University of Georgia, P.O. Box Drawer E, Aiken, SC, 29802, USA.
Rubén PortasDepartment of Evolutionary Ecology, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research of Berlin, Alfred-Kowalke St. 17, 10315, Berlin, Germany.
Ortwin AschenbornDepartment of Evolutionary Ecology, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research of Berlin, Alfred-Kowalke St. 17, 10315, Berlin, Germany.
Claudine CloeteEtosha Ecological Institute, Etosha National Park, Okaukuejo, Namibia.
Laura E PeirsonDepartment of Biology, Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Science Laboratory, Northern Michigan University, Marquette, MI, 49855, USA.
Diana J R LaffertyDepartment of Biology, Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Science Laboratory, Northern Michigan University, Marquette, MI, 49855, USA.
James C BeasleyWarnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, Savannah River Ecology Lab, University of Georgia, P.O. Box Drawer E, Aiken, SC, 29802, USA.

Funding

Office of Environmental Management DE-EM0005228
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Understanding how large carnivores partition dietary resources is essential for assessing intra-guild competition and informing conservation strategies. In this study, we used DNA metabarcoding of scats to quantify and compare the diets of sympatric African lions (Panthera leo) and spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) across wet and dry seasons in the Greater Etosha Landscape of Namibia. Across 98 scat samples (lion = 69; spotted hyena = 29), we identified 19 vertebrate prey species. Overall, large ungulates dominated both carnivores’ diets. For lions, the most frequent prey items included gemsbok (Oryx gazella), common eland (Taurotragus oryx), plains zebra (Equus quagga burchelli), and blue wildebeest (Connochaetus taurinus). For spotted hyenas, the most frequent prey items were plains zebra, gemsbok, springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis), and black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis bicornis). Dietary niche breadth was not significantly different between species, though lions exhibited the broadest across both seasons, while diet composition was similar between species and seasons. However, the smaller sample size for spotted hyenas may limit full characterization of their diet and influence measures of overlap and niche breadth. These results suggest a moderate diet overlap and limited resource partitioning both within and among these large carnivore species across seasons, likely facilitated by opportunistic scavenging and kleptoparasitism. Both species exhibited broader dietary niche breadths during the wet season, likely reflecting increased prey availability and dispersion. Ongoing monitoring of carnivore diets using molecular tools, which provides a more accurate and comprehensive identification of diet items than manual sorting, will be essential for detecting changes in resource use and interspecific interactions in response to shifting environmental conditions and anthropogenic pressures.

Indexed as

CarnivoraDietDNA Barcoding, TaxonomicSeasonsSympatryAnimalsEcosystemFeeding BehaviorHyaenidaeLionsNamibiaPredatory BehaviorAfrican lionsDietary niche breadthDiet compositionInterspecific competitionResource partitioningSpotted hyenas

Identifiers

PMID41833999
PMCPMC13121798

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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.