Metabarcoding vs Microhistology

Metabarcoding vs Microhistology: Comparing Dietary Analysis Methods

Tyler Kartzinel

Originally posted 1/6/2026.

At First Bite: Why Do Animal Diets Matter?

Understanding what animals eat is central to ecology, evolution, and conservation. Diets shape species interaction networks, how energy flows through food webs, and what animals can do when environments change. For decades, ecologists have inspected animal scats using microscopes to identify what they have been eating. Today, DNA-based approaches offer a powerful alternative.

So how do these two methods stack up—and when should you use each?

Savanna elephant eating from the understory at Mpala Research Centre in Kenya. Photo credit: Tyler Kartzinel

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