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Kestel JH, Bateman PW, Field DL, White NE, Lines R, Nevill P. eDNA metabarcoding of avocado flowers: 'Hass' it got potential to survey arthropods in food production systems? Mol Ecol Resour 2023; 23:1540-1555. [PMID: 37237427 DOI: 10.1111/1755-0998.13814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2022] [Revised: 04/26/2023] [Accepted: 05/12/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
In the face of global biodiversity declines, surveys of beneficial and antagonistic arthropod diversity as well as the ecological services that they provide are increasingly important in both natural and agro-ecosystems. Conventional survey methods used to monitor these communities often require extensive taxonomic expertise and are time-intensive, potentially limiting their application in industries such as agriculture, where arthropods often play a critical role in productivity (e.g. pollinators, pests and predators). Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding of a novel substrate, crop flowers, may offer an accurate and high throughput alternative to aid in the detection of these managed and unmanaged taxa. Here, we compared the arthropod communities detected with eDNA metabarcoding of flowers, from an agricultural species (Persea americana-'Hass' avocado), with two conventional survey techniques: digital video recording (DVR) devices and pan traps. In total, 80 eDNA flower samples, 96 h of DVRs and 48 pan trap samples were collected. Across the three methods, 49 arthropod families were identified, of which 12 were unique to the eDNA dataset. Environmental DNA metabarcoding from flowers revealed potential arthropod pollinators, as well as plant pests and parasites. Alpha diversity levels did not differ across the three survey methods although taxonomic composition varied significantly, with only 12% of arthropod families found to be common across all three methods. eDNA metabarcoding of flowers has the potential to revolutionize the way arthropod communities are monitored in natural and agro-ecosystems, potentially detecting the response of pollinators and pests to climate change, diseases, habitat loss and other disturbances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua H Kestel
- Trace and Environmental DNA (TrEnD) Laboratory, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
- Molecular Ecology and Evolution Group (MEEG), School of Science, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Australia
| | - Philip W Bateman
- Trace and Environmental DNA (TrEnD) Laboratory, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
- Behavioural Ecology Laboratory, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - David L Field
- Molecular Ecology and Evolution Group (MEEG), School of Science, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Australia
| | - Nicole E White
- Trace and Environmental DNA (TrEnD) Laboratory, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Rose Lines
- Trace and Environmental DNA (TrEnD) Laboratory, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
- Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Paul Nevill
- Trace and Environmental DNA (TrEnD) Laboratory, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
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Bonelli M, Eustacchio E, Avesani D, Michelsen V, Falaschi M, Caccianiga M, Gobbi M, Casartelli M. The Early Season Community of Flower-Visiting Arthropods in a High-Altitude Alpine Environment. Insects 2022; 13:insects13040393. [PMID: 35447835 PMCID: PMC9032982 DOI: 10.3390/insects13040393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2022] [Revised: 04/11/2022] [Accepted: 04/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
In mountain ecosystems, climate change can cause spatiotemporal shifts, impacting the composition of communities and altering fundamental biotic interactions, such as those involving flower-visiting arthropods. On of the main problems in assessing the effects of climate change on arthropods in these environments is the lack of baseline data. In particular, the arthropod communities on early flowering high-altitude plants are poorly investigated, although the early season is a critical moment for possible mismatches. In this study, we characterised the flower-visiting arthropod community on the early flowering high-altitude Alpine plant, Androsace brevis (Primulaceae). In addition, we tested the effect of abiotic factors (temperature and wind speed) and other variables (time, i.e., hour of the day, and number of flowers per plant) on the occurrence, abundance, and diversity of this community. A. brevis is a vulnerable endemic species growing in the Central Alps above 2000 m asl and flowering for a very short period immediately after snowmelt, thus representing a possible focal plant for arthropods in this particular moment of the season. Diptera and Hymenoptera were the main flower visitors, and three major features of the community emerged: an evident predominance of anthomyiid flies among Diptera, a rare presence of bees, and a relevant share of parasitoid wasps. Temperature and time (hour of the day), but not wind speed and number of flowers per plant, affected the flower visitors' activity. Our study contributes to (1) defining the composition of high-altitude Alpine flower-visiting arthropod communities in the early season, (2) establishing how these communities are affected by environmental variables, and (3) setting the stage for future evaluation of climate change effects on flower-visiting arthropods in high-altitude environments in the early season.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Bonelli
- Department of Biosciences, University of Milan, 20133 Milan, Italy; (E.E.); (M.C.); (M.C.)
- Research and Museum Collections Office, Climate and Ecology Unit, MUSE—Science Museum, 38122 Trento, Italy;
- Correspondence:
| | - Elena Eustacchio
- Department of Biosciences, University of Milan, 20133 Milan, Italy; (E.E.); (M.C.); (M.C.)
- Research and Museum Collections Office, Climate and Ecology Unit, MUSE—Science Museum, 38122 Trento, Italy;
| | - Daniele Avesani
- Zoology Section, Civic Museum of Natural History of Verona, 37129 Verona, Italy;
| | - Verner Michelsen
- Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark;
| | - Mattia Falaschi
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of Milan, 20133 Milan, Italy;
| | - Marco Caccianiga
- Department of Biosciences, University of Milan, 20133 Milan, Italy; (E.E.); (M.C.); (M.C.)
- Interuniversity Center for Studies on Bioinspired Agro-Environmental Technology (BAT Center), University of Naples Federico II, 80138 Naples, Italy
| | - Mauro Gobbi
- Research and Museum Collections Office, Climate and Ecology Unit, MUSE—Science Museum, 38122 Trento, Italy;
| | - Morena Casartelli
- Department of Biosciences, University of Milan, 20133 Milan, Italy; (E.E.); (M.C.); (M.C.)
- Interuniversity Center for Studies on Bioinspired Agro-Environmental Technology (BAT Center), University of Naples Federico II, 80138 Naples, Italy
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