| 要旨トップ | 目次 | 日本生態学会第72回全国大会 (2025年3月、札幌) 講演要旨
ESJ72 Abstract


一般講演(口頭発表) J04-06  (Oral presentation)

Predation of aquatic animals by mid-sized mammals in agricultural fields【EPA】

*Yuki NAKASHIMA(G. S. Agriculture, Hokkaido U.)

Raccoon (Procyon lotor) is one of the alien species in Japan. They are known to be omnivorous, and their predations on aquatic native species have been reported. Red fox (Vulpes vulpes schrencki) is a mammal species native to Hokkaido, and they are also omnivorous. Sympatric predation by raccoons might affect red foxes if they compete for the same food resources, but there is little information about sympatric predations of aquatic animals by these species. In this study, we conducted DNA metabarcoding analyses of fecal samples from raccoon and red fox collected in a paddy field area of Nanporo Town, Hokkaido, Japan to address this issue. By combining our results with these in a previous study (Tobe, 2018), the uses of aquatic animals by the two predator species in both paddy field and a forest nearby were evaluated. The results showed that the compositions of the aquatic animal prey species (amphibians and freshwater fish) consumed by raccoons and red foxes were significantly different; The frequency of detection of DNA from freshwater fish was significantly higher in raccoon feces than in red fox feces (p <0.001), and DNA from freshwater fish was detected significantly more frequently than those from amphibians in raccoon feces (p =0.0021). Furthermore,   DNA of a domestic invasive species, the black-spotted pond frog (Pelophylax nigromaculatus), was detected in the feces of both omnivorous predators collected in Nanporo Town.   These results suggest that the composition of aquatic animals consumed by the two predators was different   so that they could avoid the competition in the use of aquatic prey resources even though they have several aquatic preys in common. Additionally, the introduction of alien prey species may have affected the prey composition of these predators and may have contributed to new local prey overlap. For further understanding of the impact of their predations, further studies combining dietary information with environmental information, such as the distribution of prey species in the vicinity, are needed.


日本生態学会