Abstract
The use of environmental DNA (eDNA) to monitor rare and elusive species has great potential for conservation biology. Traditional surveying methods can be time-consuming, labour-intensive, subject to error or can be invasive and potentially damaging to habitat. The Trinidad golden treefrog (Phytotriades auratus) is one such species that would benefit from such an approach. This species inhabits the giant bromeliad (Glomeropitcairnia erectiflora) on two peaks on the Caribbean island of Trinidad. Traditional survey methods for this species have required the destruction of the giant bromeliad, which is the only known habitat of this frog. Here we described the development of an eDNA PCR-based assay that uses water drawn from the water-filled phytotelmata of the giant bromeliad along with the use of a synthetic DNA positive control that can be easily amplified in the bacterium Escherichia coli. The assay can detect to a DNA concentration of 1.4ng. Sampling of 142 bromeliads using this method revealed 9% were positive for P. auratus DNA. These data suggest that eDNA methods also have great potential for revealing the presence of elusive species in arboreal habitats.
Highlights
The extraction and identification of DNA from environmental samples has recently shown great potential for the monitoring of endangered and elusive species[1,2]
The golden tree frog (Phytotriades auratus) is a highly elusive species, with a constrained range in Trinidad which is likely to be significantly affected by climate change [7]
Visual sampling for elusive species is time consuming, labour-intensive and subject to observer error [1] and in the case of P. auratus destructive, as G. erectiflora needs to be removed from branches and the leaves separated, destroying P. auratus habitat
Summary
The extraction and identification of DNA from environmental samples has recently shown great potential for the monitoring of endangered and elusive species[1,2]. Traditional surveying methods in zoology for the determination of a particular species are generally time consuming, highly labour-intensive and vulnerable to observer error[1]. Complementary approaches to identify elusive or rare species have been sought for a long period to aid in surveying. Environmental DNA (eDNA) is nuclear or mitochondrial DNA that is released from an organism in to the environment. The analysis of eDNA has shown great potential in the field of conservation biology over a range of habitats [1,2,3,4]. Sources of eDNA include faeces, mucous, gametes, shed skin and carcasses and as such can report on the presence of a given
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