Effectiveness of TaqMan probes for detection of fish eggs and larvae in the stomach contents of a teleost predator

Experiments were conducted on the ability of TaqMan molecular probes to detect plaice Pleuronectes platessa DNA from eggs, and cod Gadus morhua DNA from eggs and larvae following ingestion by a teleost predator, whiting Merlangius merlangus. Estimated half-life detection rate (T50) for eggs was 31 h, and 26 h for larvae, with some positive detections occurring even after visual inspection indicated complete gut clearance. Because TaqMan probes are taxon specific, the results presented demonstrate that this technique can provide a means of rapid and unambiguous detection of predation by teleosts on fish eggs and larvae.