1 research outputs found
Comparison of mosquito and fly derived DNA as a tool for sampling vertebrate biodiversity in suburban forests in Berlin, Germany
The use of invertebrateâderived DNA (iDNA) is a promising nonâinvasive tool to monitor wildlife. While most studies have been carried out in dense tropical and subâtropical forests and have focused on the use of a single category of invertebrates, this study compares the use of flies and mosquitoesâderived DNA to assess vertebrate diversity in semiâurban environments. We conducted our sampling in four different forest plots in Berlin, Germany. Pools of flies and nonâbloodfed mosquitoes were metabarcoded using 108âbp vertebrateâspecific 12âS rRNA (12âSâV5) and 94âbp mammalâspecific 16âS rRNA (16Smam) mitochondrial markers, and individual bloodfed mosquitoes were sequenced using the 340âbp vertebrateâspecific 12âS rRNA fragment (Mamâ12âSâ340). Most sequencing was only successful for mammal species. From the fly pools, we detected 10 mammal species using 16Smam, and six species using 12âSâV5. From the nonâbloodfed mosquito pools, we only amplified putative contaminant DNA, indicating that mosquito females without visual signs of a blood meal carry no traces of vertebrate DNA. Finally, in the bloodfed mosquitoes, we identified four mammal species. We did not find significant differences in the proportion of mammal species detected regarding the total available number of species between sampling localities. Fly samples were easier to obtain and more abundant over the sampled localities compared to mosquito samples. We conclude that, while there are a few advantages in using mosquito blood meals, the use of flies in the detection of wildlife in a suburban environment is more effective in terms of collection of samples and detection of vertebrates, although this technique is limited to few mammal species in the urban environment