This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Identifying the favorite snacks of one of Australia's cutest animals no longer needs to rely on guesswork or picking apart their poop, according to University of the Sunshine Coast research. Although the shortened title of her latest paper is "The future is faeces," associate professor Dominique Potvin and colleagues want to make the task less of a hands-on, hit-and-miss job.
Traditionally, the diet of endangered greater gliders—fluffy-eared nocturnal herbivores who soar majestically from tree to tree—has been deciphered using quite primitive methods. But now Potvin says DNA testing of the gliders' excrement could allow scientists to stop manually digging through their droppings, using eyesight to guess what the gunk may be. "The methods used previously weren't particularly accurate," Potvin said.
"You would either sift through stomach contents or poop to identify plant material by sight, or you'd try and see what trees the greater gliders were eating in. "By using DNA we've been able to establish some quite surprising findings that have made us rethink a few things—and could potentially change vegetation strategies. Foremost, greater gliders are not quite the fussy eaters we thought and are open to a wider variety of nutritional sources." Using a recently developed genetic tool that was originally designed for koalas, the UniSC researchers analyzed 24 fecal samples from across southeast Queensland.
The results, published in the Journal of Mammalogy, showed that 17 different plant species were identified through DNA sequencing. "Some of the plant types we found in their diet had never been documented before and were quite unexpected," Potvin said. "It's generally been thought that greater gliders feed exclusively on foliage from the eucalyptus genus, but we recorded the presence of acacia, casuarina, angophora and corymbia species.
"Another thing we found was that gliders from different areas might be eating different things, which warrants further investigation. "The information we've gathered will allow us to recommend what trees need to be prioritized in glider habitats, a vital part of saving a species in decline." Mikaela J Bratovic et al, The future is feces: using fecal genomic sequencing to understand dietary choices of an endangered arboreal marsupial, the Greater Glider ( Petauroides spp.), Journal of Mammalogy (2026). DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyag085 Journal information: Journal of Mammalogy Provided by University of the Sunshine Coast BA art history, MA material culture.
Former museum editor, paramedic, and transplant coordinator. Editing for Science X since 2021. Full profile → Master's in physics with research experience.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
