Measuring protected-area effectiveness using vertebrate distributions from leech iDNA

Ji, Yinqiu; Baker, Christopher C. M.; Popescu, Viorel D.; Wang, Jiaxin; Wu, Chun-Ying; Wang, Zhengyang; Li, Yuanheng; Wang, Lin; Cai, Hua; Zhong-xing, Yang; Yang, Chunyan; Xu, Charles C.Y.; Diana, Alex; Wen, Qingzhong; Pierce, Naomi E.; Yu, Douglas W.

doi:10.1038/s41467-022-28778-8

Cited by 21 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 81 publications

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“…There have been numerous recent studies that have validated and calibrated iDNA techniques for terrestrial mammal monitoring. For example, leeches have been used for occupancy modelling of vertebrate species (Ji et al., 2022) because they rarely move outside a very narrow range, which makes it possible to estimate occurrence ranges accurately. However, leeches are found in limited climatic and habitat zones (Abrams et al., 2019)—typically wet and tropical—meaning that using leech iDNA in drier environments may not be possible.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of carrion fly iDNA metabarcoding to monitor invasive and native mammals

Fernandes

Bateman

Saunders

et al. 2023

Conservation Biology

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Severely fragmented habitats increase the risk of extirpation of native mammal populations through isolation, increased edge effects, and predation. Therefore, monitoring the movement of mammal populations through anthropogenically altered landscapes can inform conservation. We used metabarcoding of invertebrate‐derived DNA (iDNA) from carrion flies (Calliphoridae and Sarcophagidae) to track mammal populations in the wheat belt of southwestern Australia, where widespread clearing for agriculture has removed most of the native perennial vegetation and replaced it with an agricultural system. We investigated whether the localization of the iDNA signal reflected the predicted distribution of 4 native species—echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus), numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus), woylie (Bettongia penicillata), and chuditch (Dasyurus geoffroii)—and 2 non‐native, invasive mammal species—fox (Vulpes vulpes) and feral cat (Felis catus). We collected bulk iDNA samples (n = 150 samples from 3428 carrion flies) at 3 time points from 3 conservation reserves and 35 road edges between them. We detected 14 of the 40 mammal species known from the region, including our target species. Most detections of target taxa were in conservation reserves. There were a few detections from road edges. We detected foxes and feral cats throughout the study area, including all conservation reserves. There was a significant difference between the diversity (F3, 98 = 5.91, p < 0.001) and composition (F3, 43 = 1.72, p < 0.01) of taxa detections on road edges and conservation reserves. Conservation reserves hosted more native biodiversity than road edges. Our results suggest that the signals from iDNA reflect the known distribution of target mammals in this region. The development of iDNA methods shows promise for future noninvasive monitoring of mammals. With further development, iDNA metabarcoding could inform decision‐making related to conservation of endangered taxa, invasive species management, and impacts of habitat fragmentation.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of carrion fly iDNA metabarcoding to monitor invasive and native mammals

Fernandes

Bateman

Saunders

et al. 2023

Conservation Biology

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“…While eDNA-based approaches may allow for relatively rapid sampling, it often requires weeks or months of laboratory work, and species identifications can be limited by primer biases and DNA reference databases. Moreover, only freshwater eDNA (Ushio et al, 2018) and iDNA from bulk arthropod samples and leeches (Ji et al, 2022;Lynggaard et al, 2019;Lynggaard, Oceguera-Figueroa, et al, 2022) have been found applicable for bird detection.…”

Section: Vertebrate Taxa Detected Using Airborne Ednamentioning

confidence: 99%

Airborne environmental DNA captures terrestrial vertebrate diversity in nature

Lynggaard

Frøslev

Johnson

et al. 2023

Molecular Ecology Resources

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The current biodiversity and climate crises highlight the need for efficient tools to monitor terrestrial ecosystems. Here, we provide evidence for the use of airborne eDNA analyses as a novel method for detecting terrestrial vertebrate communities in nature. Metabarcoding of 143 airborne eDNA samples collected during 3 days in a mixed forest in Denmark yielded 64 bird, mammal, fish and amphibian taxa, of which the detected 57 ‘wild’ taxa represent over a quarter of the around 210 terrestrial vertebrates that occur in the overall area. We provide evidence for the spatial movement and temporal patterns of airborne eDNA and for the influence of weather conditions on vertebrate detections. This study demonstrates airborne eDNA for high‐resolution biomonitoring of vertebrates in terrestrial systems and elucidates its potential to guide global nature management and conservation efforts in the ongoing biodiversity crisis.

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“…Environmental DNA is frequently leveraged in aquatic systems where its use for biomonitoring is widespread, and is often employed to meet regulatory obligations, which arise both commercially and from public bodies (Deiner et al, 2016; Ficetola et al, 2008; Rees et al, 2014; Ruppert et al, 2019). Aquatic eDNA is commonly used to survey diversity in freshwater and marine ecosystems (Díaz‐Ferguson & Moyer, 2014; Thomsen & Willerslev, 2015), and has been applied in more complex ecological analyses such as occupancy modeling (Schmelzle & Kinziger, 2016), monitoring protected area efficacy (Ji et al, 2022) and understanding depth partitioning (e.g., in freshwater lakes fish eDNA appears stratified reflecting thermal niches, Littlefair et al, 2020, and kelp forests, Monuki et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Airborne eDNA documents a diverse and ecologically complex tropical bat and other mammal community

et al. 2023

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Environmental (e)DNA has rapidly become a powerful biomonitoring tool, particularly in aquatic ecosystems. This approach has not been as widely adopted in terrestrial communities where the methods of vertebrate eDNA collection have varied from the use of secondary collectors such as blood feeding parasites and spider webs, to washing surfaces of leaves and soil sampling. Recent studies have demonstrated the potential of direct collection of eDNA from air sampling, but none have tested how effective airborne eDNA sampling might be in a biodiverse environment. We used three prototype samplers to actively sample a mixed neotropical bat community in a partially controlled environment. We assess whether airborne eDNA can accurately characterize a high diversity community with skewed abundances and to determine if filter design impacts DNA collection and taxonomic recovery. Our study provides evidence for the accuracy of airborne eDNA as a detection tool and highlights its potential for monitoring high density, diverse assemblages such as bat roosts. Analysis of air samples recovered >91% of the species present and some limited relationship between species abundance and read count. Our data suggests this method can accurately depict a diverse mixed‐mammal community, particularly when the location is contained (e.g., a roost, den or burrow) but also highlights the potential for secondary transfer of eDNA material on clothing and equipment. Our results also demonstrate that simple, inexpensive, battery‐operated homemade air samplers can collect an abundance of eDNA from the air, opening the opportunity for sampling in remote environments.

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Measuring protected-area effectiveness using vertebrate distributions from leech iDNA

Cited by 21 publications

References 81 publications

Use of carrion fly iDNA metabarcoding to monitor invasive and native mammals

Use of carrion fly iDNA metabarcoding to monitor invasive and native mammals

Airborne environmental DNA captures terrestrial vertebrate diversity in nature

Airborne eDNA documents a diverse and ecologically complex tropical bat and other mammal community

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