Journal
DIVERSITY-BASEL
Volume 11, Issue 4, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/d11040050
Keywords
turtle; environmental DNA; eDNA; non-avian reptile; review; eDNA guidelines; Chrysemys picata; painted turtle; shedding hypothesis
Categories
Funding
- National Science Foundation [DEB-1242510, IOS-1257857]
- Wildlife Diversity Program of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources [15CRDWBKKINK-0075]
- Gaige Award from the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists
- Sigma Xi
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Environmental DNA (eDNA) is an increasingly used non-invasive molecular tool for detecting species presence and monitoring populations. In this article, we review the current state of non-avian reptile eDNA work in aquatic systems, and present a field experiment on detecting the presence of painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) eDNA. Thus far, turtle and snake eDNA studies have shown mixed results in detecting the presence of these animals under field conditions. However, some instances of low detection rates and non-detection occur for these non-avian reptiles, especially for squamates. We explored non-avian reptile eDNA quantification by sampling four lentic ponds with different densities (0 kg/ha, 6 kg/ha, 9 kg/ha, and 13 kg/ha) of painted turtles over three months to detect differences in eDNA using a qPCR assay amplifying the COI gene of the mtDNA genome. Only one sample of the highest-density pond amplified eDNA for a positive detection. Yet, estimates of eDNA concentration from pond eDNA were rank-order correlated with turtle density. We present the shedding hypothesisthe possibility that animals with hard, keratinized integument do not shed as much DNA as mucus-covered organismsas a potential challenge for eDNA studies. Despite challenges with eDNA inhibition and availability in water samples, we remain hopeful that eDNA can be used to detect freshwater turtles in the field. We provide key recommendations for biologists wishing to use eDNA methods for detecting non-avian reptiles.
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