Lost and found: Frogs in a biodiversity hotspot rediscovered with environmental DNA

Autor(es)

Lopes, Carla Martins ^[1] ; Baeta, Delio ^[1] ; Valentini, Alice ^[2] ; Lyra, Mariana Lucio ^[1] ; Sabbag, Ariadne Fares ^[1] ; Gasparini, Joao Luiz ^[3] ; Dejean, Tony ^[2] ; Basptista Haddad, Celio Fernando ^[1] ; Zamudio, Kelly Raquel ^[4]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Estadual Paulista UNESP, Dept Biodiversidade, IB, Rio Claro, SP - Brazil

^[2] SPYGEN, Le Bourget Du Lac - France

^[3] Univ Fed Rio de Janeiro UFRJ, Nucleo Ecol & Desenvolvimento Socioambiental Maca, Macae, RJ - Brazil

^[4] Cornell Univ, Dept Ecol & Evolutionary Biol, Ithaca, NY - USA

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: Molecular Ecology; v. 30, n. 13, SI, p. 3289-3298, JUL 2021.
• Citações Web of Science: 4

Resumo

Declines and extinctions are increasing globally and challenge conservationists to keep pace with biodiversity monitoring. Organisms leave DNA traces in the environment, e.g., in soil, water, and air. These DNA traces are referred to as environmental DNA (eDNA). The analysis of eDNA is a highly sensitive method with the potential to rapidly assess local diversity and the status of threatened species. We searched for DNA traces of 30 target amphibian species of conservation concern, at different levels of threat, using an environmental DNA metabarcoding approach, together with an extensive sequence reference database to analyse water samples from six montane sites in the Atlantic Coastal Forest and adjacent Cerrado grasslands of Brazil. We successfully detected DNA traces of four declined species (Hylodes ornatus,Hylodes regius,Crossodactylus timbuhy, andVitreorana eurygnatha); two locally disappeared (Phasmahyla exilisandPhasmahyla guttata); and one species that has not been seen since 1968 (putatively assigned toMegaelosia bocainensis). We confirm the presence of species undetected by traditional methods, underscoring the efficacy of eDNA metabarcoding for biodiversity monitoring at low population densities, especially in megadiverse tropical sites. Our results support the potential application of eDNA in conservation biology, to evaluate persistence and distribution of threatened species in surveyed habitats or sites, and improve accuracy of red lists, especially for species undetected over long periods. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 13/50741-7 - Diversidade e conservação dos anfíbios brasileiros
• Beneficiário: Célio Fernando Baptista Haddad
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Programa BIOTA - Temático
• Processo FAPESP: 12/25370-2 - Diversidade e Evolução em Phyllomedusinae (Anura: Hylidae) e suas relações com Pelodryadinae
• Beneficiário: Délio Pontes Baêta da Costa
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Pós-Doutorado
• Processo FAPESP: 16/14054-3 - DNA ambiental aplicado a estudos de monitoramento e conservação de anfíbios anuros na Mata Atlântica
• Beneficiário: Carla Martins Lopes
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Pós-Doutorado