Animal Metabarcoding
Improve Your Understanding of Animals
JonahAnimal uses animal diet metabarcoding to deliver ecological insight
- Our JonahAnimal services answer questions about wildlife, livestock, and pests.
- By sequencing animal fecal material, we quantify diet, parasites, and gut microbes.
- We also sequence honey and pollen to quantify plant use by pollinators
We have more than 20 years experience in DNA Sequencing Technology.
Jonah Ventures gives you the capacity to quantify diets of:
Herbivores such as bison, elk, cattle, and rodents
Omnivores such as pigs and bears
Predators such as fox, hawks, and bats
>100
Species Studied So Far
DNA metabarcoding is a monumental leap forward in our ability to understand what animals are eating. The first time I received data back from our bison, I remember thinking, ‘This changes everything.’
Joe Craine, PhD
Co-Founder, Jonah Ventures
Our Diet Metabarcoding Assays
Metabarcoding of fecal material yields precise results for determining the diets of predators, omnivores, and herbivores. Metabarcoding is also helpful for determining parasite presence as well as microbiomes. Contact us today for specific use cases.
Vertebrates
The vertebrates assay is used to answer the question of what carnivores are eating. This assay covers mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. At Jonah, we have used metabarcoding on predator fecal material to determine the diets of everything from wolves to raptors to sharks.
Plants
To determine what herbivores are eating, we analyze samples using on of our metabarcoding plant assays. It is effective at detecting grasses, forbs, and trees, so we can detail the nuances of your target species’ diet. At Jonah, we have quantified the plants consumed by over a hundred different species, from chickadees to iguanas to marmots to bison.
Invertebrates
Does your species routinely eat invertebrates such as insects, mussels, or cephalopods? We routinely decipher the invertebrate diets of birds, bats, amphibians, and fish. Consult with us to determine which is the best metabarcoding assay to use given the potential list of species consumed.
Parasites
In addition to diets, we can use different assays to determine the presence and taxonomic identity of a large range of parasites that are present in the digestive system of animals. These range from nematodes to cestodes to trematodes to Protozoa. Molecular identification is the most precise manner of identification in many cases.
Our Next Generation Sequencing Process
Example Data
Shown here are data on the proportions of different species in bison diet taken over three years from the same herd in South Dakota using our animal diet metabarcoding techniques. Top three diet items shown. Across the three years, bison routinely consumed high proportions of cool-season grasses in the spring and fall, while maximizing intake of protein from legumes in the summer.
Whether it is for seeing a time course of diet or comparing across populations or species, we can reconstruct the diets of herbivores, omnivores, or predators using our diet metabarcoding services.
Pricing
One Group
$90 /Sample
- Includes sequencing for one taxonomic group
- Can sequence for one of the following: bacteria, fungi, plants, insects, or vertebrates
- Good for herbivores, predators, or pollinators*
- Barcoded sample vials provided
- 10-point quality control
- Full bioinformatics
- 1-year storage of raw data
Two Groups
$150 /Sample
- Includes sequencing for two taxonomic groups
- Can sequence for two of the following: bacteria, fungi, plants, insects, or vertebrates
- Good for herbivores, omnivores, predators, or pollinators*
- Barcoded sample vials provided
- 10-point quality control
- Full bioinformatics
- 1-year storage of raw data
Three Groups
$205 /Sample
- Includes sequencing for three taxonomic groups
- Can sequence for three of the following: bacteria, fungi, plants, insects, or vertebrates
- Good for herbivores, omnivores, predators, or pollinators*
- Barcoded sample vials provided
- 10-point quality control
- Full bioinformatics
- 1-year storage of raw data
*$5 handling fee for honey due to extra processing steps
Orders of <15 samples require an additional fee of $150 for bioinformatics setup per taxonomic group
Discounts available for large orders. Please contact to discuss.
If providing extracted DNA, samples are discounted $25/sample.
