Dr Lauren White1, Dr Carlo Pacioni1, Dr Jenny Nelson1
1Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research, Melbourne, Australia
The spotted-tailed quoll has undergone significant declines across south-eastern Australia since European settlement and particularly in recent decades. Research and monitoring of the remaining populations is critical to ensure effective conservation management of this iconic species. However, monitoring of spotted-tailed quolls is very difficult as they have large home ranges and occupy habitats patchily and at low densities. Traditional survey methods include searches for communal defaecation sites, known as latrines, that are visited by quolls more frequently than other parts of the landscape. Latrines are thus a good focal point for undertaking other survey methods, such as camera or traditional trapping, for detailed population studies. However, it can be difficult to locate latrines. In this proof-of-concept study, we investigated whether DNA extracted from soil at latrine sites could be used to detect the presence of quolls and distinguish between active and in-active latrines. We sampled soil at latrines with sign of varying levels of quoll activity, as well as from non-latrine sites across quoll habitat. We extracted DNA, designed quoll specific markers and tested for the presence of quoll DNA in our extracts. These data were used in a modelling framework to relate detection probability to sign of quoll activity and test the efficacy of eDNA as a method for identifying active quoll latrine sites. We discuss the usefulness of this technique and the possibility of extending soil eDNA studies of quolls beyond presence-absence analyses.
Biography:
My research primarily uses genetic data gathered from wild animal populations to address fundamental questions on how natural selection shapes biodiversity and practical questions of how we can conserve it. I completed my PhD at the Unversity of Adelaide in South Australia, and my post-doc at the Max Planck Insitute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany. I am currently a Molecular Ecologist working at the Arthur Rylah Institute, where I use genomic tools to inform and improve wildlife management programs across Victoria.