Debugging diversity – a pan‐continental exploration of the potential of terrestrial blood‐feeding leeches as a vertebrate monitoring tool

• DOI: 10.1111/1755-0998.12912
• Publication Date: 2018-06-07T07:19:52Z
• Authors: Ida Bærholm Schnell; Kristine Bohmann; Sebastian E. Schu...; Stine R. Richter; Dáithí C. Murray; Mikkel‐Holger S. ...; David Bass; John E. Cadle; Mason J. Campbell; Rainer Dolch; David P. Edwards; Thomas N. E. Gray; Teis Hansen; Anh Nguyen Quang Hoa; Christina Lehmkuh...; Sigrid Heise‐Pavlov; Adam F. Sander Pe...; Juliot Carl Ramam...; Mark E. Siddall; Andrew Tilker; Carl Traeholt; Nicholas Wilkinson; Paul Woodcock; Douglas W. Yu; Mads Frost Bertelsen; Michael Bunce; M. Thomas P. Gilbert
• Keywords: Mammals; 0301 basic medicine; 570; 590; high-throughput sequencing; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; Reptiles; 15. Life on land; terrestrial haematophagous leeches; Amphibians; Birds; 03 medical and health sciences; vertebrate diversity; vertebrate monitoring; iDNA; Leeches; metabarcoding; Animals; DNA Barcoding, Taxonomic; Metagenomics; Blood Chemical Analysis; Environmental Monitoring

The use of environmental DNA (eDNA) has become an applicable noninvasive tool with which to obtain information about biodiversity. A subdiscipline eDNA is iDNA (invertebrate-derived DNA), where genetic material ingested by invertebrates used characterize the biodiversity species that served as hosts. While promising, these techniques are still in their infancy, they have only been explored on limited numbers samples from a single or few different locations. In this study, we investigate suitability extracted more than 3,000 haematophagous terrestrial leeches for detecting wide range vertebrates across five geographical regions three continents. These cover almost full leeches, thus representing all parts world method might apply. We identify host taxa through metabarcoding coupled high-throughput sequencing Illumina and IonTorrent platforms decrease economic costs workload thereby make approach attractive practitioners conservation management. identified hosts four taxonomic vertebrate classes: mammals, birds, reptiles amphibians, belonging at least 42 families. find blood throughout distribution viable source examine vertebrates. Thus, study provides encouraging support potential monitoring