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Environmental DNA as a Tool for the Management and Conservation...
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Environmental DNA as a Tool for the Management and Conservation of Natural Resources

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Ecology and Conservation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 August 2024) | Viewed by 2702

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Trinidad Pérez

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Functional Biology, University of Oviedo, 33006 Oviedo, Spain
Interests: population genetics; conservation genetics; endangered species; phylogenetics
Dr. Laura Miralles

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Functional Biology, University of Oviedo, 33006 Oviedo, Spain
Interests: eDNA; marine conservation; cetaceans; elasmobranchii
Dr. Sara Fernández

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Functional Biology, University of Oviedo, 33006 Oviedo, Spain
Interests: eDNA; conservation biology; endangered species; invasive species

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over the past two decades, it has become increasingly clear that environmental DNA (eDNA) studies are of growing utility in providing knowledge about species distributions and community ecology. The combination of its high efficiency and sensitivity, coupled with the advantages of non-destructive sampling, makes eDNA an ideal tool for monitoring species composition and distribution in near real time. Obtaining information of species, populations, and communities by retrieving DNA from environmental samples appears to be a promising tool in the current scenario of biodiversity loss and altered ecosystem functions due to global change and anthropogenic activities.

This Special Issue will provide a collection of articles that display how eDNA analysis can allow us to probe species composition, reveal biodiversity trends, detect endangered or invasive species, detect and evaluate species of commercial interest, and ultimately improve our understanding of ecosystem-level processes. We will mainly focus on eDNA from macroorganisms (animals, plants, and fungi), as they are the key targets in conservation.

As Guest Editors of this Special Issue, we, Trinidad Pérez, Laura Miralles, and Sara Fernández, invite you to submit research and review articles that focus on the use of environmental DNA as a tool for the monitoring and conservation of macroorganisms. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

Biodiversity, surveillance, monitoring, bioassessment, metabarcoding, macroorganisms, invasive species, endangered species, and commercial interest species.

Prof. Dr. Trinidad Pérez
Dr. Laura Miralles
Dr. Sara Fernández
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

 

Keywords

  • biodiversity
  • surveillance
  • monitoring
  • bioassessment
  • metabarcoding
  • macroorganisms
  • invasive species
  • endangered species
  • commercial interest species

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 4126 KiB  
Article
Environment DNA Reveals Fish Diversity in a Canyon River within the Upper Pearl River Drainage
by Si Luo, Meng Wang, Weizhong Ma, Dangen Gu, Zhijun Jin, Ruiqi Yang, Zhen Qian, Chengwen Song, Zexin Wang and Shiyu Jin
Animals 2024, 14(16), 2433; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14162433 - 22 Aug 2024
Viewed by 823
Abstract
Investigating fish diversity in canyon rivers through conventional fish surveys is challenging due to precipitous conditions, including steep slopes, rapid water flow, and complex habitats. Additionally, intensive construction of dams has further complicated the understanding of contemporary fish diversity in these rivers. In [...] Read more.
Investigating fish diversity in canyon rivers through conventional fish surveys is challenging due to precipitous conditions, including steep slopes, rapid water flow, and complex habitats. Additionally, intensive construction of dams has further complicated the understanding of contemporary fish diversity in these rivers. In this study, we used the environmental DNA (eDNA) technique to assess fish diversity and examine the effects of dams on fish diversity in the Mabiehe River, a canyon river in the upper reaches of the Pearl River drainage. Water samples from 15 sampling sites were collected, yielding 9,356,148 valid sequences. Utilizing the NCBI public database, a total of 60 freshwater fish species were identified, with Carassius auratus, Cyprinus carpio, and Pelteobagrus fulvidraco being the most dominant species in the Mabiehe River. We also detected one nationally protected fish species, three provincially protected fish species, and six exotic species in this river. Furthermore, eDNA analyses demonstrated that the lotic river sections harbor more species and greater diversity than dammed sections, suggesting that dams might exert significant impacts on local fish diversity. Overall, this study supports the effectiveness of the eDNA technique as a complementary tool to traditional field surveys for monitoring fish biodiversity in canyon rivers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental DNA as a Tool for the Management and Conservation of Natural Resources)
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23 pages, 9235 KiB  
Article
The Consumption and Diversity Variation Responses of Agricultural Pests and Their Dietary Niche Differentiation in Insectivorous Bats
by Dan Zhu, Yingying Liu, Lixin Gong, Man Si, Qiuya Wang, Jiang Feng and Tinglei Jiang
Animals 2024, 14(5), 815; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14050815 - 6 Mar 2024
Viewed by 1494
Abstract
Insectivorous bats are generalist predators and can flexibly respond to fluctuations in the distribution and abundance of insect prey. To better understand the effects of bats on arthropod pests, the types of pests eaten by bats and the response of bats to insect [...] Read more.
Insectivorous bats are generalist predators and can flexibly respond to fluctuations in the distribution and abundance of insect prey. To better understand the effects of bats on arthropod pests, the types of pests eaten by bats and the response of bats to insect prey need to be determined. In this study, we performed DNA metabarcoding to examine prey composition and pest diversity in the diets of four insectivorous species of bats (Hipposideros armiger, Taphozous melanopogon, Aselliscus stoliczkanus, and Miniopterus fuliginosus). We evaluated the correlation between bat activity and insect resources and assessed dietary niche similarity and niche breadth among species and factors that influence prey consumption in bats. We found that the diets of these bats included arthropods from 23 orders and 200 families, dominated by Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, and Diptera. The proportion of agricultural pests in the diet of each of the four species of bats exceeded 40% and comprised 713 agricultural pests, including those that caused severe economic losses. Bats responded to the availability of insects. For example, a higher abundance of insects, especially Lepidoptera, and a higher insect diversity led to an increase in the duration of bat activity. In areas with more abundant insects, the number of bat passes also increased. The dietary composition, diversity, and niches differed among species and were particularly significant between H. armiger and T. melanopogon; the dietary niche width was the greatest in A. stoliczkanus and the narrowest in H. armiger. The diet of bats was correlated with their morphological and echolocation traits. Larger bats preyed more on insects in the order Coleoptera, whereas the proportion of bats consuming insects in the order Lepidoptera increased as the body size decreased. Bats that emitted echolocation calls with a high peak frequency and duration preyed more on insects in the order Mantodea. Our results suggest that dietary niche differentiation promotes the coexistence of different bat species and increases the ability of bats to consume insect prey and agricultural pests. Our findings provide greater insights into the role of bats that prey on agricultural pests and highlight the importance of combining bat conservation with integrated pest management. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental DNA as a Tool for the Management and Conservation of Natural Resources)
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