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Broadhurst HA, Gregory LM, Bleakley EK, Perkins JC, Lavin JV, Bolton P, Browett SS, Howe CV, Singleton N, Tansley D, Sales NG, McDevitt AD. Mapping differences in mammalian distributions and diversity using environmental DNA from rivers. Sci Total Environ 2021; 801:149724. [PMID: 34467903 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2021] [Revised: 08/12/2021] [Accepted: 08/13/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Finding more efficient ways to monitor and estimate the diversity of mammalian communities is a major step towards their management and conservation. Environmental DNA (eDNA) from river water has recently been shown to be a viable method for biomonitoring mammalian communities. Most of the studies to date have focused on the potential for eDNA to detect individual species, with little focus on describing patterns of community diversity and structure. Here, we first focus on the sampling effort required to reliably map the diversity and distribution of semi-aquatic and terrestrial mammals and allow inferences of community structure surrounding two rivers in southeastern England. Community diversity and composition was then assessed based on species richness and β-diversity, with differences between communities partitioned into nestedness and turnover, and the sampling effort required to rapidly detect semi-aquatic and terrestrial species was evaluated based on species accumulation curves and occupancy modelling. eDNA metabarcoding detected 25 wild mammal species from five orders, representing the vast majority (82%) of the species expected in the area. The required sampling effort varied between orders, with common species (generally rodents, deer and lagomorphs) more readily detected, with carnivores detected less frequently. Measures of species richness differed between rivers (both overall and within each mammalian order) and patterns of β-diversity revealed the importance of species replacement in sites within each river, against a pattern of species loss between the two rivers. eDNA metabarcoding demonstrated its capability to rapidly detect mammal species, allowing inferences of community composition that will better inform future sampling strategies for this Class. Importantly, this study highlights the potential use of eDNA data for investigating mammalian community dynamics over different spatial scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Holly A Broadhurst
- School of Science, Engineering and Environment, University of Salford, UK
| | - Luke M Gregory
- School of Science, Engineering and Environment, University of Salford, UK
| | - Emma K Bleakley
- School of Science, Engineering and Environment, University of Salford, UK
| | - Joseph C Perkins
- School of Science, Engineering and Environment, University of Salford, UK
| | - Jenna V Lavin
- School of Science, Engineering and Environment, University of Salford, UK
| | - Polly Bolton
- School of Science, Engineering and Environment, University of Salford, UK
| | - Samuel S Browett
- School of Science, Engineering and Environment, University of Salford, UK; School of Science and Computing, Waterford Institute of Technology, Waterford, Ireland
| | - Claire V Howe
- Natural England, Horizon House, Deanery Road, Bristol, UK
| | - Natalie Singleton
- Essex Wildlife Trust, Abbotts Hall Farm, Great Wigborough, Colchester, UK
| | - Darren Tansley
- Essex Wildlife Trust, Abbotts Hall Farm, Great Wigborough, Colchester, UK
| | | | - Allan D McDevitt
- School of Science, Engineering and Environment, University of Salford, UK.
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Palecek AM, Novak MV, Blob RW. Wading through water: effects of water depth and speed on the drag and kinematics of walking Chilean flamingos, Phoenicopterus chilensis. J Exp Biol 2021; 224:272138. [PMID: 34505127 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.242988] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2021] [Accepted: 09/03/2021] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Wading behaviours, in which an animal walks while partially submerged in water, are present in a variety of taxa including amphibians, reptiles, mammals and birds. Despite the ubiquity of wading behaviours, few data are available to evaluate how animals adjust their locomotion to accommodate changes in water depth. Because drag from water might impose additional locomotor costs, wading animals might be expected to raise their feet above the water up to a certain point until such behaviours lead to awkward steps and are abandoned. To test for such mechanisms, we measured drag on models of the limbs of Chilean flamingos (Phoenicopterus chilensis) and measured their limb and body kinematics as they walked and waded through increasing depths of water in a zoo enclosure. Substantial drag was incurred by models of both open- and closed-toed feet, suggesting that flamingos could avoid some locomotor costs by stepping over water, rather than through it, during wading. Step height was highest while wading through intermediate water depths and while wading at a faster speed. Stride length increased with increasing water depth and velocity, and the limb joints generally flexed more while moving through intermediate water depths. However, movements of the head and neck were not strongly correlated with water depth or velocity. Our results show a wide range of kinematic changes that occur to allow wading birds to walk through different water depths, and have implications for better understanding the locomotor strategies employed by semi-aquatic species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda M Palecek
- Department of Biological Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA
| | - Megan V Novak
- Department of Biological Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA
| | - Richard W Blob
- Department of Biological Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA
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Doering JA, Booth T, Wiersma YF, Piercey-Normore MD. How do genes flow? Identifying potential dispersal mode for the semi-aquatic lichen Dermatocarpon luridum using spatial modelling and photobiont markers. BMC Ecol 2020; 20:56. [PMID: 33059667 PMCID: PMC7565318 DOI: 10.1186/s12898-020-00324-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2020] [Accepted: 10/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Landscape genetics is an interdisciplinary field that combines tools and techniques from population genetics with the spatially explicit principles from landscape ecology. Spatial variation in genotypes is used to test hypotheses about how landscape pattern affects dispersal in a wide range of taxa. Lichens, symbiotic associations between mycobionts and photobionts, are an entity for which little is known about their dispersal mechanism. Our objective was to infer the dispersal mechanism in the semi-aquatic lichen Dermatocarpon luridum using spatial models and the spatial variation of the photobiont, Diplosphaera chodatii. We sequenced the ITS rDNA and the β-actin gene regions of the photobiont and mapped the haplotype spatial distribution in Payuk Lake. We subdivided Payuk Lake into subpopulations and applied four spatial models based on the topography and hydrology to infer the dispersal mechanism. Results Genetic variation corresponded with the topography of the lake and the net flow of water through the waterbody. A lack of isolation-by-distance suggests high gene flow or dispersal within the lake. We infer the dispersal mechanism in D. luridum could either be by wind and/or water based on the haplotype spatial distribution of its photobiont using the ITS rDNA and β-actin markers. Conclusions We inferred that the dispersal mechanism could be either wind and/or water dispersed due to the conflicting interpretations of our landscape hypotheses. This is the first study to use spatial modelling to infer dispersal in semi-aquatic lichens. The results of this study may help to understand lichen dispersal within aquatic landscapes, which can have implications in the conservation of rare or threatened lichens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer A Doering
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N2, Canada.
| | - Tom Booth
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N2, Canada
| | - Yolanda F Wiersma
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL, A1B 3X9, Canada
| | - Michele D Piercey-Normore
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N2, Canada.,School of Science and Environment, Grenfell Campus, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Corner Brook, NL, A2H 5G4, Canada
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Li C, Wu XC, Zhao LJ, Nesbitt SJ, Stocker MR, Wang LT. A new armored archosauriform (Diapsida: Archosauromorpha) from the marine Middle Triassic of China, with implications for the diverse life styles of archosauriforms prior to the diversification of Archosauria. Naturwissenschaften 2016; 103:95. [PMID: 27830290 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-016-1418-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2015] [Revised: 09/29/2016] [Accepted: 10/03/2016] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Reptiles have a long history of transitioning from terrestrial to semi-aquatic or aquatic environments that stretches back at least 250 million years. Within Archosauria, both living crocodylians and birds have semi-aquatic members. Closer to the root of Archosauria and within the closest relatives of the clade, there is a growing body of evidence that early members of those clades had a semi-aquatic lifestyle. However, the morphological adaptations to a semi-aquatic environment remain equivocal in most cases. Here, we introduce a new Middle Triassic (245-235 Ma) archosauriform, Litorosuchus somnii, gen. et sp. nov., based on a nearly complete skeleton from the Zhuganpo Member (Ladinian [241-235 Ma]) of the Falang Formation, Yunnan, China. Our phylogenetic analyses suggest that Litorosuchus is a stem archosaur closely related to the aberrant Vancleavea just outside of Archosauria. The well-preserved skeleton of L. somnii bears a number of morphological characters consistent with other aquatic-adapted tetrapods including: a dorsally directed external naris, tall neural spines and elongate chevrons in an elongated tail, a short and broad scapula, webbed feet, long cervical vertebrae with long slender ribs, and an elongated rostrum with long and pointed teeth. Together these features represent one of the best-supported cases of a semi-aquatic mode of life for a stem archosaur. Together with Vancleavea campi, the discovery of L. somnii demonstrates a growing body of evidence that there was much more diversity in mode of life outside Archosauria. Furthermore, L. somnii helps interpret other possible character states consistent with a semi-aquatic mode of life for archosauriforms, including archosaurs.
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