Miss Kristen Fernandes1,2, Dr Bill Bateman1, Dr Ben Saunders1, Prof Michael Bunce1,3, Dr Kristine Bohmann2, Dr Paul Nevill1
1Curtin University, Perth, Australia, 2University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark, 3Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR), Kenepuru, New Zealand
Severely fragmented habitats increase the risks towards native mammal populations through isolation, increased edge effects, and predation. Therefore, monitoring the movement of mammal populations through anthropogenically-altered landscapes can be a valuable tool for conservation. Here we use metabarcoding of invertebrate-derived DNA (iDNA) from carrion flies to track mammal populations in the Wheatbelt Region of southwestern Australia, where widespread clearing for agriculture has removed most of the native perennial vegetation and replaced it with an agricultural system. We investigated whether the localisation of the iDNA signal reflected the predicted distribution of four native species – echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus), numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus), woylie (Bettongia penicillata), and chuditch (Dasyurus geoffroii) – and two non-native mammal species – fox (Vulpes vulpes) and feral cat (Felis catus) – in this landscape. We collected iDNA samples from three conservation reserves and road edges between them and detected 14 of the 40 mammal species known from the region, including our target species. Detections of target native taxa were centred on conservation reserves, with some detections from road edges nearby. We detected foxes and feral cats throughout the study area, including all conservation reserves. The diversity and composition of taxa on road edges and conservation reserves were significantly different: conservation reserves hosted more native biodiversity than road edges. Our data suggest that the signals from iDNA are highly localised and reflect the known distribution of mammals in this region. The development of iDNA methods shows promise for the future of monitoring mammals.
Biography:
Kristen is now a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Otago working on calibrating eDNA techniques for pest management and detection. She is presenting work from her PhD based at Curtin University and the University of Copenhagen, completed in 2022. Her interests include all things eDNA, with a particular emphasis on developing and calibrating eDNA tools for conservation.