Nordstrom Bethany, Mitchell Nicola, Byrne Margaret, Jarman Simon
School of Biological Sciences The University of Western Australia Crawley Western Australia Australia.
Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions Biodiversity and Conservation Science Perth Western Australia Australia.
Ecol Evol. 2022 Jun 5;12(6):e8995. doi: 10.1002/ece3.8995. eCollection 2022 Jul.
Reptile populations are in decline globally, with total reptile abundance halving in the past half century, and approximately a fifth of species currently threatened with extinction. Research on reptile distributions, population trends, and trophic interactions can greatly improve the accuracy of conservation listings and planning for species recovery, but data deficiency is an impediment for many species. Environmental DNA (eDNA) can detect species and measure community diversity at diverse spatio-temporal scales, and is especially useful for detection of elusive, cryptic, or rare species, making it potentially very valuable in herpetology. We aim to summarize the utility of eDNA as a tool for informing reptile conservation and management and discuss the benefits and limitations of this approach. A literature review was conducted to collect all studies that used eDNA and focus on reptile ecology, conservation, or management. Results of the literature search are summarized into key discussion points, and the review also draws on eDNA studies from other taxa to highlight methodological challenges and to identify future research directions. eDNA has had limited application to reptiles, relative to other vertebrate groups, and little use in regions with high species richness. eDNA techniques have been more successfully applied to aquatic reptiles than to terrestrial reptiles, and most (64%) of studies focused on aquatic habitats. Two of the four reptilian orders dominate the existing eDNA studies (56% Testudines, 49% Squamata, 5% Crocodilia, 0% Rhynchocephalia). Our review provides direction for the application of eDNA as an emerging tool in reptile ecology and conservation, especially when it can be paired with traditional monitoring approaches. Technologies associated with eDNA are rapidly advancing, and as techniques become more sensitive and accessible, we expect eDNA will be increasingly valuable for addressing key knowledge gaps for reptiles.
全球爬行动物种群数量正在下降，在过去半个世纪里，爬行动物的总数量减少了一半，目前约有五分之一的物种面临灭绝威胁。对爬行动物分布、种群趋势和营养相互作用的研究可以大大提高保护名录的准确性和物种恢复计划的准确性，但数据不足是许多物种面临的一个障碍。环境DNA（eDNA）可以在不同的时空尺度上检测物种并测量群落多样性，对于检测难以捉摸、隐秘或稀有的物种特别有用，这使其在爬行动物学中具有潜在的重要价值。我们旨在总结eDNA作为一种为爬行动物保护和管理提供信息的工具的实用性，并讨论这种方法的优点和局限性。我们进行了一项文献综述，以收集所有使用eDNA并关注爬行动物生态学、保护或管理的研究。文献搜索结果被总结为关键讨论点，该综述还借鉴了其他类群的eDNA研究，以突出方法学挑战并确定未来的研究方向。相对于其他脊椎动物类群，eDNA在爬行动物中的应用有限，在物种丰富度高的地区使用较少。eDNA技术在水生爬行动物中的应用比在陆生爬行动物中更成功，大多数（64%）研究集中在水生生境。四个爬行动物目中的两个在现有的eDNA研究中占主导地位（龟鳖目占56%，有鳞目占49%，鳄目占5%，喙头目占0%）。我们的综述为eDNA作为一种新兴工具在爬行动物生态学和保护中的应用提供了方向，特别是当它可以与传统监测方法结合使用时。与eDNA相关的技术正在迅速发展，随着技术变得更加灵敏和易于使用，我们预计eDNA在解决爬行动物关键知识空白方面将越来越有价值。
