Research overview: DNA metabarcoding of felid scat for prey identification

An overview of how molecular analysis of prey DNA in faeces is transforming the study of cat diets. By sequencing prey genetic material recovered from scats, researchers can identify prey to species with far greater resolution than morphological remains, detect soft-bodied or fully digested prey, and confirm predator identity from the same sample. This survey synthesizes metabarcoding workflows, their advantages over hair and bone identification, biases such as differential DNA degradation and amplification, and applications to leopards, snow leopards and small cats including cryptic or rare prey. It connects molecular ecology to diet and prey-preference research and to conservation monitoring. The topic represents a rapidly advancing frontier that is refining and sometimes revising long-held views of what felids actually consume.