Using DNA metabarcoding to detect burrowing seabirds in a remote landscape

• Published in: Conservation Science and Practice
• Main Authors: McInnes, JC, Bird, JP, Deagle, BE, Polanowski, AM, Shaw, JD
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: John Wiley & Sons Inc 2021
• Subjects: ecosystem recovery; eDNA; eradication; faces; noninvasive; Pelecanoides; Procellariidae; Antarctic; Antarc*; Macquarie Island
• Online Access: https://eprints.utas.edu.au/44480/; https://eprints.utas.edu.au/44480/1/145305%20-%20Using%20DNA%20metabarcoding%20to%20detect%20burrowing%20seabirds.pdf

Species inventories and biodiversity assessments are critical to conservation. Yet cryptic species or recolonizing species can be challenging to detect. DNA metabarcoding provides an alternative tool to identify species that can be difficult to observe during field surveys. We test the efficacy of DNA analysis to identify burrowing petrel species in a rapidly changing landscape, on a remote sub-Antarctic island following pest eradication. Discarded feathers and scats provided high quality DNA for species identification, assisting in detection of new species arrivals and new breeding sites across Macquarie Island. We highlight how DNA metabarcoding informs species inventories and is a valuable tool to complement seabird field surveys.