Study finds eDNA 'game-changer' to help protect native animals

The way in which native animals are protected has been identified by the researchers at Curtin University.

Two research papers were published in the journal Molecular Ecology and Biodiversity and Conservation to find out where the use of DNA metabarcoding can be found.

Dr. Mieke van der Heyde, from the School of Molecular and Life Sciences, said that the use of DNA metabarcoding could save time, money and resources in monitoring the recovery of insects and animals.

There is an assumption that as long as there are plants, everything else will come back on its own, and this isn't necessarily true.

The problem is that monitoring fauna is hard, often requiring teams of experts in remote locations for weeks at a time. Tracking down the expertise to identify all the animals can be difficult.

Dr. van der Hyde warned that it is not a one-size-fits-all method and that it can be a cost-effective alternative to monitoring fauna recovery.

We found that the recovery of insects and plants in woodlands and forests, but not in the arid Pilbara region, can be shown with the use of DNA metabarcoding, and that ground-dwelling insects give a better restoration signal than flying insects because they don't travel as far.

We could tell the difference between restoration and reference sites using pooled poo samples. Dr. van der Heyde said that the lack of rain made bird droppings last longer and made it easier to see.

Animals and insects can only be identified with reference DNA in our database. If we want accurate, species-level identifications from DNA, we need to barcode many more animals.

This technology can greatly improve the efforts to restore and conserve species that are under threat from loss of habitat and changing climates.

The papers are titled "Evaluating restoration trajectory using DNA metabarcoding of ground-dwelling and airborne invertebrates and associated plant communities" and "Scat DNA provides important data for effective monitoring of mammal and bird biodiversity."

More information: Mieke Heyde et al, Evaluating restoration trajectories using DNA metabarcoding of ground‐dwelling and airborne invertebrates and associated plant communities, Molecular Ecology (2022). DOI: 10.1111/mec.16375

M. van der Heyde et al. provide important data for effective monitoring of mammal and bird biodiversity. There is a book called "s10531-021-02264-x."

Journal information: Molecular Ecology Citation: Study finds eDNA 'game-changer' to help protect native animals (2022, February 28) retrieved 28 February 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-02-edna-game-changer-native-animals.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.