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April 10, 2026Integrative Zoology

Diet Metabarcoding Reveals Correlations Between the Consumption of Slugs and Hepatic Toxicants in European Hedgehogs ( Erinaceus europaeus )

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Authors

LFLéa Fieschi‐MéricGhent UniversityPLPauline van LeeuwenUniversity of AntwerpSBSofie De BruyckereGhent University

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Implication

Explores diet effects on toxins in hedgehogs, revealing implications for conservation.

Key Points

  • The aim is to understand the relationship between hedgehog diet, specifically slugs, and exposure to hepatic toxicants.
  • Characterized diet using fecal DNA metabarcoding.
  • Analyzed dietary composition of 209 hedgehogs in Europe.
  • Investigated correlations between diet richness and hepatic toxicant concentrations.
  • Finding that slugs are the primary food source for 92% of hedgehogs.
  • Increased slug consumption correlates with higher hepatic zinc levels.
  • Diet richness negatively correlates with hepatic brodifacoum concentration.

Cite This Study

Fieschi‐Méric et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69d8967d6c1944d70ce07e13https://doi.org/10.1111/1749-4877.70096
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