Poster Session 6, 4:15 PM - 5:00 PM: Room 165 [D10]

Marsh Mammal Madness: Detecting Invasive and Elusive Mammals in Western Massachusetts

Presenter: Ellen Chan

Faculty Sponsor: Todd Richard Disotell

School: UMass Amherst

Research Area: Biology

ABSTRACT

Environmental DNA (eDNA) methods streamline elusive species monitoring and invasive species management. This study focuses on the elusive American water shrew (Sorex palustris) and the invasive nutria (Myocastor coypus). Massachusetts designates S. palustris as a species of Special Concern threatened by rocky stream habitat degradation. Meanwhile, M. coypus populations may migrate towards the warming Northeast, gorging on vegetation that prevents soil erosion along coastal marshes. Given that both species are of concern and are difficult to detect with conventional methods such as camera traps, they merit eDNA monitoring. Assuming that both species are absent in western Massachusetts, we predict that eDNA samples (e.g. soil, water, and blood-fed mosquitoes) via qPCR will detect their presence. For data collection, we visited private and public properties across western Massachusetts to collect soil samples from animal burrows, blood-fed mosquitoes from gravid and resting mosquito traps, and water samples from rivers. We then extracted DNA from  each sample, with S. palustris and M. coypus tissue as positive controls, following Qiagen's DNeasy Blood and Tissue kit and DNeasy PowerMax soil kit protocols. We then used qPCR with S. palustris and M. coypus primers, and PCR with universal barcoded 12S vertebrate and mammal primers. The detection of either species would validate eDNA as a non-invasive and accessible method for biodiversity monitoring.

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