Improve Your Understanding of Animals
JonahAnimal delivers insight into animal diet with metabarcoding
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
JonahAnimal gives you the capacity to measure diets for
- Herbivores such as bison, elk, cattle, and rodents
- Omnivores such as pigs and bears
- Predators such as fox, hawks, and bats
Species Studied So Far
Our Next Generation Sequencing Assays
We pride ourselves in our transparancy. Take a look at the assays we offer to detect groups of species using Next Generation Sequencing.
Vertebrates (Vert12S)
The vertebrates assay is used to answer the question of what carnivores are eating. This assay covers mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Because carnivores can be so secretive, using metabarcoding analysis on their feces is an excellent way to collect important data without disturbing the animal.
Plants
To determine what herbivores are eating, we analyze samples using our plant assay (trnL). It is effective at detecting grasses, forbs, and trees, so we can detail the nuances of your target species’ diet. It’s particularly fascinating to see the changes in herbivore’s diet preferences across the landscape and across seasons. This assay is also used to analyze the pollen in honey to see which plants bees are visiting.
Invertebrates
Is your target species an insectivore? We routinely decipher the insect diets of birds, bats, amphibians, and fish. Though invertebrate libraries aren’t perfect, we can usually get to Family level, if not to genus, or even species.
Bacteria
Bacteria can tell you a lot about what’s going on inside or on the surface of an animal, whether it’s disease-related or gut microbiome. Among animals of the same species, gut microbiomes can be very diverse.
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 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 JonahAnimal services.
Our Standard Deliverables
NGS Report Explained
Pricing
One Group
- 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 Group
- 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
- 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.
Request your free quote today!