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Using DNA metabarcoding as a novel approach for analysis of platypus diet. Sci Rep 2022; 12:2247. [PMID: 35145160 PMCID: PMC8831530 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-06023-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2021] [Accepted: 01/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Platypuses (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) forage for macroinvertebrate prey exclusively in freshwater habitats. Because food material in their faeces is well digested and mostly unidentifiable, previous dietary studies have relied on cheek pouch assessments and stable isotope analysis. Given DNA metabarcoding can identify species composition from only fragments of genetic material, we investigated its effectiveness in analysing the diet of platypuses, and to assess variation across seasons and sexes. Of the 18 orders and 60 families identified, Ephemeroptera and Diptera were the most prevalent orders, detected in 100% of samples, followed by Trichoptera, Pulmonata, and Odonata (86.21% of samples). Caenidae and Chironomidae were the most common families. Diptera had a high average DNA read, suggesting it is an important dietary component that may have been underestimated in previous studies. We found no variation in diet between sexes and only minimal changes between seasons. DNA metabarcoding proved to be a highly useful tool for assessing platypus diet, improving prey identification compared to cheek pouch analysis, which can underestimate soft-bodied organisms, and stable isotope analysis which cannot distinguish all taxa isotopically. This will be a useful tool for investigating how platypus prey diversity is impacted by habitat degradation as a result of anthropogenic stressors.
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Archer M, Bates H, Hand SJ, Evans T, Broome L, McAllan B, Geiser F, Jackson S, Myers T, Gillespie A, Palmer C, Hawke T, Horn AM. The Burramys Project: a conservationist's reach should exceed history's grasp, or what is the fossil record for? Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2019; 374:20190221. [PMID: 31679491 PMCID: PMC6863488 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
The fossil record provides important information about changes in species diversity, distribution, habitat and abundance through time. As we understand more about these changes, it becomes possible to envisage a wider range of options for translocations in a world where sustainability of habitats is under increasing threat. The Critically Endangered alpine/subalpine mountain pygmy-possum, Burramys parvus (Marsupialia, Burramyidae), is threatened by global heating. Using conventional strategies, there would be no viable pathway for stopping this iconic marsupial from becoming extinct. The fossil record, however, has inspired an innovative strategy for saving this species. This lineage has been represented over 25 Myr by a series of species always inhabiting lowland, wet forest palaeocommunities. These fossil deposits have been found in what is now the Tirari Desert, South Australia (24 Ma), savannah woodlands of the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, Queensland (approx. 24–15 Ma) and savannah grasslands of Hamilton, Victoria (approx. 4 Ma). This palaeoecological record has led to the proposal overviewed here to construct a lowland breeding facility with the goal of monitoring the outcome of introducing this possum back into the pre-Quaternary core habitat for the lineage. If this project succeeds, similar approaches could be considered for other climate-change-threatened Australian species such as the southern corroboree frog (Pseudophryne corroboree) and the western swamp tortoise (Pseudemydura umbrina). This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘The past is a foreign country: how much can the fossil record actually inform conservation?’
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Archer
- PANGEA Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia
| | - Hayley Bates
- PANGEA Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia
| | - Suzanne J Hand
- PANGEA Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia
| | - Trevor Evans
- Australian Ecosystems Foundation Inc., 35 Crane Road, Lithgow, New South Wales 2790, Australia
| | - Linda Broome
- Office of Environment and Heritage, PO Box 733, Queanbeyan, New South Wales 2620, Australia
| | - Bronwyn McAllan
- Physiology, School of Medical Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
| | - Fritz Geiser
- Centre for Behavioural and Physiological Ecology, Zoology, University of New England, New South Wales 2351, Australia
| | - Stephen Jackson
- PANGEA Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia.,Biosecurity NSW, NSW Department of Primary Industries, Orange, New South Wales 2800, Australia
| | - Troy Myers
- PANGEA Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia
| | - Anna Gillespie
- PANGEA Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia
| | - Chris Palmer
- PANGEA Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia
| | - Tahneal Hawke
- Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia
| | - Alexis M Horn
- Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation, Sanibel, FL 33957, USA
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