4. Discussion
Our study utilized high-resolution identification to explore the dietary
compositions and seasonal diet variations of the Chinese mole shrew
present in human habitats, aiming to increase understanding of shrew
feeding ecology and evaluating their impact on the farming system. The
Chinese mole shrew tends to be an opportunistic and generalized predator
of a diverse array of invertebrates and plants, particularly earthworms
and crops. With respect to common preys invertebrates, we confirm that
Chinese mole shrew predominantly but not exclusively feeds on earthworms
with a semi-fossorial foraging mode similar to other shrews in temperate
habitats (Churchfield et al. 2012; Churchfield et al. 2010; Khanam et
al. 2016). Based on molecular technique, diverse plant materials at the
species level were identified in the shrew stomach contents with
frequent observation of several important crops (e.g., rice and peanut).