Targeted eDNA Metabarcoding Reveals New Populations of a Range‐Limited Stonefly
ABSTRACT Understanding the geographic distributions of rare species can be crucial for conservation management. New environmental DNA (eDNA) technologies offer the potential to efficiently document the distributions of endangered species, but to date, such screening has focused largely on vertebrate...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Ecology and Evolution |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71244 |
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| author | Graham A. McCulloch Stephen R. Pohe Shaun P. Wilkinson Tom J. Drinan Jonathan M. Waters |
| author_facet | Graham A. McCulloch Stephen R. Pohe Shaun P. Wilkinson Tom J. Drinan Jonathan M. Waters |
| author_sort | Graham A. McCulloch |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT Understanding the geographic distributions of rare species can be crucial for conservation management. New environmental DNA (eDNA) technologies offer the potential to efficiently document the distributions of endangered species, but to date, such screening has focused largely on vertebrate taxa. Here we use freshwater eDNA to assess the geographic distribution of the Maungatua stonefly, Zelandoperla maungatuaensis, a flightless insect previously known from only a handful of streams draining a 4‐km section of the Maungatua mountain range in southern New Zealand. We analyzed freshwater eDNA from 12 stream localities across the Maungatua range. Screening with commercial eDNA COI primers failed to detect the focal species Z. maungatuaensis. However, newly designed species‐specific primers detected this taxon from four adjacent east‐flowing streams known to contain Z. maungatuaensis, and two streams from which it had not previously been detected. Subsequent manual surveys confirmed the presence of two newly discovered Z. maungatuaensis populations, with COI barcoding revealing that they together represent a previously unknown, genetically divergent subclade. Our results illustrate the potential of eDNA metabarcoding to help delineate the geographic ranges of rare taxa, and highlight the importance of primer specificity when screening for rare taxa. These findings also have considerable implications for commercial companies offering biodiversity and stream health eDNA services targeting invertebrates. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-dbaaf7210e9e46b984cc9bac5d2480a2 |
| institution | Matheson Library |
| issn | 2045-7758 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
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| series | Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj-art-dbaaf7210e9e46b984cc9bac5d2480a22025-06-27T10:07:15ZengWileyEcology and Evolution2045-77582025-04-01154n/an/a10.1002/ece3.71244Targeted eDNA Metabarcoding Reveals New Populations of a Range‐Limited StoneflyGraham A. McCulloch0Stephen R. Pohe1Shaun P. Wilkinson2Tom J. Drinan3Jonathan M. Waters4Department of Zoology University of Otago Dunedin New ZealandPohe Environmental Whangārei New ZealandWilderlab NZ Ltd. Wellington New ZealandDepartment of Conservation Wellington New ZealandDepartment of Zoology University of Otago Dunedin New ZealandABSTRACT Understanding the geographic distributions of rare species can be crucial for conservation management. New environmental DNA (eDNA) technologies offer the potential to efficiently document the distributions of endangered species, but to date, such screening has focused largely on vertebrate taxa. Here we use freshwater eDNA to assess the geographic distribution of the Maungatua stonefly, Zelandoperla maungatuaensis, a flightless insect previously known from only a handful of streams draining a 4‐km section of the Maungatua mountain range in southern New Zealand. We analyzed freshwater eDNA from 12 stream localities across the Maungatua range. Screening with commercial eDNA COI primers failed to detect the focal species Z. maungatuaensis. However, newly designed species‐specific primers detected this taxon from four adjacent east‐flowing streams known to contain Z. maungatuaensis, and two streams from which it had not previously been detected. Subsequent manual surveys confirmed the presence of two newly discovered Z. maungatuaensis populations, with COI barcoding revealing that they together represent a previously unknown, genetically divergent subclade. Our results illustrate the potential of eDNA metabarcoding to help delineate the geographic ranges of rare taxa, and highlight the importance of primer specificity when screening for rare taxa. These findings also have considerable implications for commercial companies offering biodiversity and stream health eDNA services targeting invertebrates.https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71244eDNA metabarcodingMaungatua stoneflyPlecopteraprimer design |
| spellingShingle | Graham A. McCulloch Stephen R. Pohe Shaun P. Wilkinson Tom J. Drinan Jonathan M. Waters Targeted eDNA Metabarcoding Reveals New Populations of a Range‐Limited Stonefly Ecology and Evolution eDNA metabarcoding Maungatua stonefly Plecoptera primer design |
| title | Targeted eDNA Metabarcoding Reveals New Populations of a Range‐Limited Stonefly |
| title_full | Targeted eDNA Metabarcoding Reveals New Populations of a Range‐Limited Stonefly |
| title_fullStr | Targeted eDNA Metabarcoding Reveals New Populations of a Range‐Limited Stonefly |
| title_full_unstemmed | Targeted eDNA Metabarcoding Reveals New Populations of a Range‐Limited Stonefly |
| title_short | Targeted eDNA Metabarcoding Reveals New Populations of a Range‐Limited Stonefly |
| title_sort | targeted edna metabarcoding reveals new populations of a range limited stonefly |
| topic | eDNA metabarcoding Maungatua stonefly Plecoptera primer design |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71244 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT grahamamcculloch targetedednametabarcodingrevealsnewpopulationsofarangelimitedstonefly AT stephenrpohe targetedednametabarcodingrevealsnewpopulationsofarangelimitedstonefly AT shaunpwilkinson targetedednametabarcodingrevealsnewpopulationsofarangelimitedstonefly AT tomjdrinan targetedednametabarcodingrevealsnewpopulationsofarangelimitedstonefly AT jonathanmwaters targetedednametabarcodingrevealsnewpopulationsofarangelimitedstonefly |