Rapid species and river‐of‐origin determination for matamata turtles (Chelus sp.) using real‐time PCR: Facilitating rapid return of trafficked specimens back to the wild

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Abstract Illegal wildlife trade is a major global threat to biodiversity. Environmental authorities around the world face many challenges enforcing and implementing laws intended to protect wild species. Wildlife forensic protocols can help to solve many of these implementation and enforcement issues. Matamata turtles comprise two different species that look identical (Chelus fimbriata, Chelus orinocensis), which are geographically separated into the Amazon and Orinoco river basins, respectively, in South America. The trade in matamata turtles (Chelus sp.) is illegal in Colombia and law enforcement officers need to identify confiscated individuals to the species level in order to return them to the correct river basin. This is a time‐sensitive problem because increasing time in captivity can lead to mortality and imposes logistical and financial burdens on resource managers. This article presents the development of a reliable, potentially field‐based, fast (~2 h), and cost‐effective (~USD$1 per sample identified) real‐time polymerase chain reaction assay to identify live matamata turtles to the species level, which facilitates accurate and fast translocation back to the correct river‐of‐origin. This assay was applied in a real law enforcement scenario where confiscated matamata turtles were quickly identified as C. orinocensis, showing that they should be returned to the Orinoco basin. This research highlights the practicality and usefulness of these kinds of protocols to solve wildlife trade issues faced by law enforcement officers, and provides a blueprint for the development and implementation of field‐based molecular protocols to enhance the enforcement and implementation of laws intended to protect wildlife subject to illegal trade. Given the widespread detection of illegal trade in wildlife and the threat that it poses to biodiversity, it is critical that these types of protocols and collaborative efforts among all stakeholders continue to be developed and implemented.