1
|
Fernandes K, Bateman PW, Saunders BJ, Gibberd M, Bunce M, Bohmann K, Nevill P. Analysing the effects of distance, taxon and biomass on vertebrate detections using bulk-collected carrion fly iDNA. R Soc Open Sci 2024; 11:231286. [PMID: 38577218 PMCID: PMC10987983 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.231286] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2022] [Revised: 11/23/2023] [Accepted: 02/27/2024] [Indexed: 04/06/2024]
Abstract
Invertebrate-derived DNA (iDNA) metabarcoding from carrion flies is a powerful, non-invasive tool that has value for assessing vertebrate diversity. However, unknowns exist around the factors that influence vertebrate detections, such as spatial limits to iDNA signals or if detections are influenced by taxonomic class or estimated biomass of the vertebrates of interest. Using a bulk-collection method, we captured flies from within a zoo and along transects extending 4 km away from this location. From 920 flies, we detected 28 vertebrate species. Of the 28 detected species, we identified 9 species kept at the zoo, 8 mammals and 1 bird, but no reptiles. iDNA detections were highly geographically localized, and only a few zoo animals were detected outside the zoo setting. However, due to the low number of detections in our dataset, we found no influence of the taxonomic group or the estimated biomass of animals on their detectability. Our data suggest that iDNA detections from bulk-collected carrion flies, at least in urban settings in Australia, are predominantly determined by geographic proximity to the sampling location. This study presents an important step in understanding how iDNA techniques can be used in biodiversity monitoring.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kristen Fernandes
- Trace and Environmental DNA (TrEnD) Laboratory, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia6102, Australia
- Section for Molecular Ecology and Evolution, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Food Agility CRC Ltd, Sydney, New South Wales2000, Australia
- Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, Dunedin9016, New Zealand
| | - Philip W. Bateman
- Behavioural Ecology Laboratory, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia6102, Australia
- MBioMe - Mine Site Biomonitoring using eDNA Research Group, Trace and Environmental DNA (TrEnD) Laboratory, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia6102, Australia
| | - Benjamin J. Saunders
- School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia6102, Australia
| | - Mark Gibberd
- Food Agility CRC Ltd, Sydney, New South Wales2000, Australia
- Centre for Crop and Disease Management, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia6102, Australia
| | - Michael Bunce
- Trace and Environmental DNA (TrEnD) Laboratory, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia6102, Australia
- Environmental Science and Research (ESR), Porirua5022, New Zealand
| | - Kristine Bohmann
- Section for Molecular Ecology and Evolution, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Paul Nevill
- MBioMe - Mine Site Biomonitoring using eDNA Research Group, Trace and Environmental DNA (TrEnD) Laboratory, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia6102, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Saranholi BH, Rodriguez-Castro KG, Carvalho CS, Chahad-Ehlers S, Gestich CC, Andrade SCS, Freitas PD, Galetti PM. Comparing iDNA from mosquitoes and flies to survey mammals in a semi-controlled Neotropical area. Mol Ecol Resour 2023; 23:1790-1799. [PMID: 37535317 DOI: 10.1111/1755-0998.13851] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2022] [Revised: 06/10/2023] [Accepted: 07/17/2023] [Indexed: 08/04/2023]
Abstract
Ingested-derived DNA (iDNA) from insects represents a powerful tool for assessing vertebrate diversity because insects are easy to sample, have a diverse diet and are widely distributed. Because of these advantages, the use of iDNA for detecting mammals has gained increasing attention. Here we aimed to compare the effectiveness of mosquitoes and flies to detect mammals with a small sampling effort in a semi-controlled area, a zoo that houses native and non-native species. We compared mosquitoes and flies regarding the number of mammal species detected, the amount of mammal sequence reads recovered, and the flight distance range for detecting mammals. We also verified if the combination of two mini-barcodes (12SrRNA and 16SrRNA) would perform better than either mini-barcode alone to inform local mammal biodiversity from iDNA. To capture mosquitoes and flies, we distributed insect traps in eight sampling points during 5 days. We identified 43 Operational Taxonomic Units from 10 orders, from the iDNA of 17 mosquitoes and 46 flies. There was no difference in the number of species recovered per individual insect between mosquitoes and flies, but the number of flies captured was higher, resulting in more mammal species recovered by flies. Eight species were recorded exclusively by mosquitoes and 20 by flies, suggesting that using both samplers would allow a more comprehensive screening of the biodiversity. The maximum distance recorded was 337 m for flies and 289 m for mosquitoes, but the average range distance did not differ between insect groups. Our assay proved to be efficient for mammal detection, considering the high number of species detected with a reduced sampling effort.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bruno H Saranholi
- Departamento de Genética e Evolução, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, Brazil
| | - Karen G Rodriguez-Castro
- Departamento de Genética e Evolução, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, Brazil
- Facultad Ciencias Básicas e Ingeniería, Universidad de los Llanos, Villavicencio, Colombia
| | - Carolina S Carvalho
- Departamento de Genética e Evolução, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, Brazil
- Instituto Tecnológico Vale, Belém, Brazil
| | - Samira Chahad-Ehlers
- Departamento de Genética e Evolução, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, Brazil
| | - Carla C Gestich
- Departamento de Genética e Evolução, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, Brazil
| | - Sónia C S Andrade
- Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Patrícia D Freitas
- Departamento de Genética e Evolução, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, Brazil
| | - Pedro M Galetti
- Departamento de Genética e Evolução, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Fernandes K, Bateman PW, Saunders BJ, Bunce M, Bohmann K, Nevill P. Use of carrion fly iDNA metabarcoding to monitor invasive and native mammals. Conserv Biol 2023; 37:e14098. [PMID: 37186093 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.14098] [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] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2022] [Revised: 03/29/2023] [Accepted: 03/31/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
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.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kristen Fernandes
- Trace and Environmental DNA (TrEnD) Laboratory, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia
- Section for Molecular Ecology and Evolution, Globe Institute, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Food Agility CRC Ltd, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Philip W Bateman
- Trace and Environmental DNA (TrEnD) Laboratory, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia
- Behavioural Ecology Research Group, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia
- MBioMe - Mine Site Biomonitoring using eDNA Research Group, Trace and Environmental DNA (TrEnD) Laboratory, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Benjamin J Saunders
- School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Michael Bunce
- Trace and Environmental DNA (TrEnD) Laboratory, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia
- Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR), Kenepuru, Porirua, New Zealand
| | - Kristine Bohmann
- Section for Molecular Ecology and Evolution, Globe Institute, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Paul Nevill
- Trace and Environmental DNA (TrEnD) Laboratory, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia
- MBioMe - Mine Site Biomonitoring using eDNA Research Group, Trace and Environmental DNA (TrEnD) Laboratory, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Carvalho CS, de Oliveira ME, Rodriguez-Castro KG, Saranholi BH, Galetti PM. Efficiency of eDNA and iDNA in assessing vertebrate diversity and its abundance. Mol Ecol Resour 2021; 22:1262-1273. [PMID: 34724330 DOI: 10.1111/1755-0998.13543] [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] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2021] [Revised: 10/26/2021] [Accepted: 10/27/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Environmental DNA (eDNA) and invertebrate-derived DNA (iDNA) have been increasingly recognized as powerful tools for biodiversity assessment and conservation management. However, eDNA/iDNA efficiency for vertebrate diversity assessment remains uncertain, and comparisons to conventional methods are still rare. Through a meta-analysis of previously published vertebrate diversity surveys, we compared the efficiency of eDNA/iDNA against conventional methods across several types of samplers, vertebrate groups, and locations (tropical vs. temperate zones). We also assess eDNA/iDNA efficiency to estimate relative abundance or biomass over different molecular methods (qPCR and metabarcoding) and type of experiment (in the laboratory or in the field). We showed that for water sampler, fish as a target species, and studies achieved in temperate zones, eDNA presents lower risk of not detecting a species or a site with a target species than conventional methods. These results show that eDNA is an efficient tool to assess fish diversity. Moreover, eDNA data presents positive correlation with fish abundance or biomass. However, such correlation was higher in laboratory experiments than in the field. For the other samplers, vertebrate groups, and in tropical zones we were not able to draw general conclusion, highlighting the urgency of conducting more comparative studies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Carolina S Carvalho
- Departamento de Genética e Evolução, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, SP, Brazil.,Instituto Tecnológico Vale, Belém, PA, Brazil
| | | | - Karen Giselle Rodriguez-Castro
- Departamento de Genética e Evolução, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, SP, Brazil.,Facultad de Ciencias Básicas e Ingeniería, Universidad de los Llanos, Villavicencio, Colombia
| | - Bruno H Saranholi
- Departamento de Genética e Evolução, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, SP, Brazil.,Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Pedro M Galetti
- Departamento de Genética e Evolução, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, SP, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Drinkwater R, Jucker T, Potter JHT, Swinfield T, Coomes DA, Slade EM, Gilbert MTP, Lewis OT, Bernard H, Struebig MJ, Clare EL, Rossiter SJ. Leech blood-meal invertebrate-derived DNA reveals differences in Bornean mammal diversity across habitats. Mol Ecol 2020; 30:3299-3312. [PMID: 33171014 PMCID: PMC8359290 DOI: 10.1111/mec.15724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2020] [Revised: 10/26/2020] [Accepted: 11/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
The application of metabarcoding to environmental and invertebrate‐derived DNA (eDNA and iDNA) is a new and increasingly applied method for monitoring biodiversity across a diverse range of habitats. This approach is particularly promising for sampling in the biodiverse humid tropics, where rapid land‐use change for agriculture means there is a growing need to understand the conservation value of the remaining mosaic and degraded landscapes. Here we use iDNA from blood‐feeding leeches (Haemadipsa picta) to assess differences in mammalian diversity across a gradient of forest degradation in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. We screened 557 individual leeches for mammal DNA by targeting fragments of the 16S rRNA gene and detected 14 mammalian genera. We recorded lower mammal diversity in the most heavily degraded forest compared to higher quality twice logged forest. Although the accumulation curves of diversity estimates were comparable across these habitat types, diversity was higher in twice logged forest, with more taxa of conservation concern. In addition, our analysis revealed differences between the community recorded in the heavily logged forest and that of the twice logged forest. By revealing differences in mammal diversity across a human‐modified tropical landscape, our study demonstrates the value of iDNA as a noninvasive biomonitoring approach in conservation assessments.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rosie Drinkwater
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Tommaso Jucker
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Joshua H T Potter
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Tom Swinfield
- Department of Plant Sciences, Forest and Ecology Conservation Group, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - David A Coomes
- Department of Plant Sciences, Forest and Ecology Conservation Group, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Eleanor M Slade
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.,Asian School of the Environment, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore City, Singapore
| | - M Thomas P Gilbert
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.,University Museum, NTNU, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Owen T Lewis
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Henry Bernard
- Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Sabah, Malaysia
| | - Matthew J Struebig
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
| | - Elizabeth L Clare
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Stephen J Rossiter
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Drinkwater R, Schnell IB, Bohmann K, Bernard H, Veron G, Clare E, Gilbert MTP, Rossiter SJ. Using metabarcoding to compare the suitability of two blood-feeding leech species for sampling mammalian diversity in North Borneo. Mol Ecol Resour 2019; 19:105-117. [PMID: 30225935 PMCID: PMC7379310 DOI: 10.1111/1755-0998.12943] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2018] [Revised: 09/04/2018] [Accepted: 09/07/2018] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
The application of high-throughput sequencing (HTS) for metabarcoding of mixed samples offers new opportunities in conservation biology. Recently, the successful detection of prey DNA from the guts of leeches has raised the possibility that these, and other blood-feeding invertebrates, might serve as useful samplers of mammals. Yet little is known about whether sympatric leech species differ in their feeding preferences, and whether this has a bearing on their relative suitability for monitoring local mammalian diversity. To address these questions, we collected spatially matched samples of two congeneric leech species Haemadipsa picta and Haemadipsa sumatrana from lowland rainforest in Borneo. For each species, we pooled ~500 leeches into batches of 10 individuals, performed PCR to target a section of the mammalian 16S rRNA locus and undertook sequencing of amplicon libraries using an Illumina MiSeq. In total, we identified sequences from 14 mammalian genera, spanning nine families and five orders. We found greater numbers of detections, and higher diversity of OTUs, in H. picta compared with H. sumatrana, with rodents only present in the former leech species. However, comparison of samples from across the landscape revealed no significant difference in mammal community composition between the leech species. We therefore suggest that H. picta is the more suitable iDNA sampler in this degraded Bornean forest. We conclude that the choice of invertebrate sampler can influence the detectability of different mammal groups and that this should be accounted for when designing iDNA studies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rosie Drinkwater
- School of Biological and Chemical SciencesQueen Mary University of LondonLondonUK
| | | | - Kristine Bohmann
- Natural History Museum of DenmarkUniversity of CopenhagenCopenhagenDenmark
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of East Anglia, Norwich Research ParkNorwich, NorfolkUK
| | - Henry Bernard
- Institute for Tropical Biology and ConservationUniversiti Malaysia Sabah, Jalan UMSKota KinabaluSabahMalaysia
| | - Géraldine Veron
- Institut Systématique Evolution Biodiversité (ISYEB)Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHEParis CedexFrance
| | - Elizabeth Clare
- School of Biological and Chemical SciencesQueen Mary University of LondonLondonUK
| | - M. Thomas P. Gilbert
- Natural History Museum of DenmarkUniversity of CopenhagenCopenhagenDenmark
- NTNU University Museum, Norwegian University of Science and TechnologyTrondheimNorway
| | - Stephen J. Rossiter
- School of Biological and Chemical SciencesQueen Mary University of LondonLondonUK
| |
Collapse
|