Quantitative fatty acid signature analysis (QFASA) to explore the diet of the plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae) during winter on the Qinghai–Xizang (Tibetan) plateau

The plateau pika, a keystone species of the Tibetan Plateau, is also widely poisoned as an agricultural pest. An intriguing observation is that pika are more abundant where their main competitor (domestic yak) is also most abundant. A recent study showed that this may be because pika supplement their diet in winter by consuming yak feces. Here we used quantitative fatty acid signatures analysis to explore pika diet and detect the possibility of coprophagy. We collected fat tissue from pika at 3 sites of varying elevation, and compared the abundance of 10 fatty acids (FA) in their body fat with those in their main potential foods (grass, roots and feces). We used an optimization program to establish the best-fit diet to the observed FA distributions, using mouse fat as a negative control. Pika fat FA signatures matched plateau foods far better than mouse fat. Faeces consumption doubled as the elevation of the site increased from 12.8% at the lowest site to 26.8% at the highest. In contrast consumption of roots showed the opposite pattern, comprising 32% at the lowest elevation and falling to virtually zero at the highest. That might reflect the time that the surface ground is frozen inhibiting the ability to dig for roots at higher elevation sites. Our data support the previous suggestion that pika eat yak feces, potentially giving them an over-winter survival advantage increasing their populations where yak are abundant. The full extent of coprophagy however requires more data in a larger population sample.