bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.01.05.425398; this version posted January 6, 2021. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under aCC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license. Dietary specialisation in a Critically Endangered pipefish revealed by faecal eDNA metabarcoding Ofentse K. Ntshudisane1,*, Arsalan Emami-Khoyi1,*, Gavin Gouws2,3, Sven-Erick Weiss1,3, Nicola C. James2, Jody-Carynn Oliver1, Laura Tensen1, Claudia M. Schnelle1, Bettine Jansen van Vuuren1, Taryn Bodill2, Paul D. Cowley2, Alan K. Whitfield2, Peter R. Teske1,** 1Centre for Ecological Genomics and Wildlife Research, Department of Zoology, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park 2006, South Africa 2National Research Foundation – South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, Private Bag 1015, Makhanda 6140, South Africa 3Department of Ichthyology and Fisheries Science, Rhodes University, Makhanda 6140, South Africa *These authors contributed equally **Author for correspondence. Email:
[email protected] ORCID: OKN, 0000-0001-8950-5563; AEK, 0000-0002-9525-4745; GG, 0000-0003- 2770-940X; NJ, 0000-0002-6015-359X; CMS, 0000-0001-8254-1916; BvV, 0000- 0002-5334-5358; PDC, 0000-0003-1246-4390; AWK, 0000-0003-1452-7367; PRT, 0000-0002-2838-7804 Abstract The estuarine pipefish, Syngnathus watermeyeri, is one of the rarest animals in Africa and occurs in only two South African estuaries. The species was declared provisionally extinct in 1994, but was later rediscovered and is currently listed by the IUCN as Critically Endangered. A conservation programme was launched in 2017, with the re-introduction of captive-bred individuals into estuaries where this species was recorded historically was the main aims.