Abstract
Current ecological surveys for great crested newts are time-consuming and expensive and can only be carried out within a short survey window. Additional survey methods which would facilitate the detection of rare or protected species such as the great crested newt (Triturus cristatus) would be extremely advantageous. Environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis has been utilized for the detection of great crested newts in Denmark. Here, the same methodology has been applied to water samples taken from UK ponds concurrently with conventional field surveying techniques. Our eDNA analysis exhibited an 84% success rate with a kappa coefficient of agreement between field and eDNA surveys of 0.86. One pond determined to be negative for great crested newt by field survey was positive by eDNA analysis, revealing the potential for improved detection rates using this methodology. Analysis of water samples collected in late summer indicates that eDNA analysis could be used to detect great crested newt after the optimal survey window for current field techniques had passed. Consequently, eDNA analysis could augment currently stipulated techniques for great crested newt surveying as a relatively quick and inexpensive tool for collecting great crested newt presence and distribution data within the UK instead of or prior to full field surveys.
Highlights
Knowledge of species distribution is critical to ecological management and conservation biology
Crested newt environmental DNA (eDNA) was detected in water samples from 84% of the ponds where crested newt presence was observed by field survey methods such as bottle trapping, torchlight surveys, and egg counts
This resulted in an observed percentage agreement of 89% and a kappa coefficient of 0.86 which shows a good agreement between the results
Summary
Knowledge of species distribution is critical to ecological management and conservation biology. The use of eDNA analysis in monitoring and conservation of aquatic populations arose from the assessment of the diversity of macro-organisms in ancient sediments (Willerslev et al 2003). Several different ancient and modern environments have been subject to this approach, for example terrestrial sediments, ice cores, and freshwater lakes and rivers (Hofreiter et al 2003; Willerslev et al 2003, 2007; Ficetola et al 2008; Matisoo-Smith et al 2008; Thomsen et al 2012b). Analyses showed that a multisampling approach allowed for the detection of the bullfrog even when it was present at low densities (Ficetola et al 2008)
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