Abstract

Two common approaches to lionfish feeding ecology through gut content analysis are: (1) identification to the lowest possible taxon (i.e., using morphological characters to identify whole or partially digested specimens) or (2) a DNA barcoding approach, which involves sequencing of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (CO1) gene from all distinct prey components of the stomach. Morphological identification relies heavily on the ability to identify digested organisms to the species level, which is not possible in many cases (Baker et al. 2014). This technique discards useful information that could be obtained in the semi-digested portion of the stomach contents (small unidentifiable pieces from prey and the liquids or digested “mush”). DNA barcoding allows taxonomic access to small unidentifiable tissue pieces, but despite the higher resolution, it also has some disadvantages. It can still only be applied to identifiable items in the stomach contents and does not reduce sampling effort (Coissac et al. 2012). The digested products may contain under-represented prey items, or prey items that have yet to be acknowledged within the diet.

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