Unveiling prey preferences of endangered wild Malayan tiger, Panthera tigris jacksoni, in Peninsular Malaysia through scat analysis via COI DNA metabarcoding

Abstract

Understanding the prey preference of Malayan tiger (Panthera tigris jacksoni) in Malaysia is important to guide conservation planning initiatives. The utilisation of DNA metabarcoding provides valuable insights, particularly in the field of carnivora diet research. This technique has been proven to be effective for identifying various species within complex mixtures such as scat materials, where visual identification is challenging. The Cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) locus has been selected as it is a widely used as an effective non-invasive approach for diet studies. Hence, given this advance approach, Malayan tiger scats were collected on the basis of existing records of their presence in two types of habitats, namely, protected areas (PA) and human–tiger conflict (HTC) areas. This study aimed to identify prey species in Peninsular Malaysia, based on Malayan tiger scat samples using DNA metabarcoding. Based on the partial mitochondrial COI region, DNA metabarcoding led to the taxonomic resolution of prey DNA remnants in scats and the identification of prey species consumed by Malayan tiger, which were predominately small-to-medium-sized prey, including livestock. The dominant DNA prey detected belongs to the family Canidae, followed by Bovidae, Vespertilionidae, Homonidae, Felidae, Phasianidae and Muridae. A significant difference (p < 0.05) was observed in alpha and beta diversity using the Shannon index and PERMANOVA with regard to prey richness and evenness in two different habitat groups, namely, PA and HTC. Our finding provides insights into Malayan tiger dietary requirements, which can be used to develop conservation plans and strategies for Malayan tiger, particularly for habitat priorities.