Gut Content Analysis Using DNA Barcodes

Predation plays an important role in the decline of several fishes native to the Sacramento-San Joaquin river delta.  I hope to shed light on these predator-prey interactions by identifying the gut contents of non-native predators. Traditional gut content studies are limited by the identifiability of digested prey inside the gut. This issue can be bypassed by identifying species at the molecular level. I am developing and applying qPCR assays to identify at-risk species in predator’s guts. Advantages, pitfalls and future applications of these methods will be highlighted.