Sharif Muhammad Bilal, Ferry Björn, Fuchs Jérôme, Cronholm Bodil, Heintzman Peter D, Dalén Love
Centre for Palaeogenetics, Stockholm, Sweden.
Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
PLoS One. 2025 Aug 20;20(8):e0328831. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0328831. eCollection 2025.
Monitoring species' occurrences is essential for understanding ecosystem dynamics, tracking biodiversity changes, and guiding conservation efforts. Traditional monitoring methods, such as visual surveys, are challenging, particularly for elusive and endangered species. This proof-of-concept study explores the potential of environmental DNA (eDNA) collected from peck marks as a non-invasive tool for detecting and identifying woodpecker species. We collected nine samples from fresh peck marks on birch and spruce trees in the forests of Swedish Lapland. In two samples, we successfully amplified an 81 base-pair fragment of the woodpecker mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene. Taxonomic assignment identified the Eurasian three-toed woodpecker (Picoides tridactylus), a species classified as "Near Threatened" in Sweden. We collected an additional 15 samples from 4-19 years old peck marks preserved inside the trunks of birch and pine trees in the same area. No woodpecker DNA was detected in these samples, likely due to DNA degradation. Our findings demonstrate the potential of using eDNA from peck marks as a non-invasive approach for monitoring elusive woodpecker species.
监测物种的出现对于理解生态系统动态、追踪生物多样性变化以及指导保护工作至关重要。传统的监测方法，如视觉调查，具有挑战性，特别是对于难以捉摸和濒危的物种。这项概念验证研究探索了从啄痕中收集的环境DNA（eDNA）作为检测和识别啄木鸟物种的非侵入性工具的潜力。我们从瑞典拉普兰森林中桦树和云杉树上的新鲜啄痕中收集了九个样本。在两个样本中，我们成功扩增了啄木鸟线粒体16S rRNA基因的一个81个碱基对的片段。分类鉴定确定为欧亚三趾啄木鸟（Picoides tridactylus），该物种在瑞典被列为“近危”物种。我们从同一地区桦树和松树树干内保存的4至19年的啄痕中又收集了15个样本。在这些样本中未检测到啄木鸟DNA，可能是由于DNA降解。我们的研究结果表明，利用啄痕中的eDNA作为监测难以捉摸的啄木鸟物种的非侵入性方法具有潜力。
