DOI: 10.5061/dryad.sf7m0cghz
title: Data from: More than fish: Diet composition of fishing cats (Prionailurus viverrinus) in human-dominated landscape

description: The fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus) is a medium-sized wetland
 specialist threatened felid with a limited knowledge base on behavior and
 ecology. We carried out a comprehensive analysis of its diet within a
 human-dominated landscape in southern Nepal, analyzing scat samples
 through microscopic analysis and DNA metabarcoding. The microscopic
 analysis revealed that mammals, primarily rodents, constituted the largest
 proportion of fishing cat diet (61.73% frequency of occurrence (FO))
 followed by birds (43.21% FO) fish (24.69% FO), and reptiles (19.75% FO).
 However, DNA metabarcoding documented fish as the main diet (70% FO),
 followed by mammals (63.33% FO) and birds (30% FO). Our findings
 demonstrate that fish alone is not a major food source of fishing cats
 indicating their role in regulating rodents and birds that damage farm
 crops. The trophic niche breadth (0.68) shows the fishing cats a diet
 generalist. We suggest that highlighting these findings through community
 education and awareness can change farmers’ negative perceptions, reducing
 threats of retaliatory killing and increasing support for conservation
 efforts.
description: # More than fish: diet composition of fishing cats (Prionailurus
 viverrinus) in human-dominated landscape
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.sf7m0cghz](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.sf7m0cghz) ## Description of the data and file structure Fishing cat scats were collected from different parks of Terai region of Nepal. The contents in the scat was analysed using microscopic analysis and eDNA metabarcoding methods.  ### Files and variables #### File: eDNA\_updated.xlsx **Description:** Scat analysis based on eDNA metabarcoding ##### Variables * Samples (columns) and taxa categories (rows). The columns represent as follows: | **Prey OTUs** | **Information obtained from DNA metabarcoding** | | :------------------------------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | **Category** | Group of taxa (fish, mammals, birds, etc.) | | **Order** | Order of the prey present in the sample | | **Family** | Family of the prey present in the sample | | **Genus** | Genus of the prey present in the sample | | **Species** | Species of the prey present in the sample | | **Probable species** | Possible species based on information obtained from DNA metabarcoding | | **Common name** | Common name of the prey species identified in the sample | | **Native** | Prey species occurring in the study area naturally for a long time (1 - native, 0 - not native) | | **Exotic** | Species introduced in the study area, not occurring naturally (1 - exotic, 0 - not exotic) | | **Commercial (in case of fish)** | Species farmed for commercial purposes (1 - yes, 0 - no) | | **FcCS-3 to FC-132** | Scat samples with the occurrence probability (%) of prey species/genus/family identified based on DNA metabarcoding | #### File: Microscopic\_*data\_updated*.xlsx **Description:**  Scat analysis based on Microscopic analysis ##### Variables * Sample IDs (rows) and taxa categories in each sample (columns). The column descriptions are as follows: | **SN** | **Serial Number** | | :------------------------------------------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Field code** | Sample code collected in the field | | **Site Name** | Location of scat collection | | **Date of collection** | Date the scat was collected | | **Habitat of collection site** | Habitat description of the scat collection site | | **Other information during scat collection** | Any other information related to scat collection | | **Scales, Hairs, Bones etc.** | Presence or absence of different items and taxa groups in the scat (1 - present, 0 - absent) | | **Remarks** | Any additional information; blank cells mean no additional information for the sample. | Missing data: N/A ## Access information Other publicly accessible locations of the data: * N/A Data was derived from the following sources: * N/A