An environmental DNA tool for monitoring the status of the Critically Endangered Smalltooth Sawfish, Pristis pectinata ,
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METHODS AND RESOURCES ARTICLE
An environmental DNA tool for monitoring the status of the Critically Endangered Smalltooth Sawfish, Pristis pectinata, in the western Atlantic Ryan N. Lehman1 · Gregg R. Poulakis2 · Rachel M. Scharer2 · Katherine E. Schweiss1 · Jill M. Hendon3 · Nicole M. Phillips1 Received: 11 September 2019 / Accepted: 22 April 2020 © Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract The Critically Endangered Smalltooth Sawfish, Pristis pectinata, was once widespread in the tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean, but following substantial declines over the past century, the remaining population(s) are currently confined to Florida in the U.S., and the Bahamas. Recent research and verified public encounter reports suggest that the core population in south and southwest Florida may be stabilizing and potentially expanding into formerly occupied areas of their historic range in the western Atlantic; however, the status of this species outside of core waters is not well understood. Environmental DNA (eDNA) methods provide a relatively cost effective and rapid assessment tool for monitoring species occurrence in aquatic habitats. Here, we have developed an eDNA tool: a species-specific Droplet Digital™ PCR assay targeting a 100-base pair portion of the mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 gene in P. pectinata, with the ability to reliably detect as little as 0.25 pg of target DNA. The assay was validated by analyzing a water sample from an occupied nursery in southwest Florida, which was found to contain an average of 11.54 copies of target DNA/µL (SE = 0.72) in the reaction. The assay was then further tested by placing a juvenile sawfish in an ex situ tank and analyzing water samples collected at time intervals. The implementation of this eDNA tool into field surveys will provide additional, reliable data to assess species recovery and aid in prioritizing localities in which to focus new research, conservation, and education initiatives. Keywords Conservation · Elasmobranch · Ray · Droplet Digital™ PCR · Species recovery · eDNA
Introduction
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s12686-020-01149-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Nicole M. Phillips [email protected] 1
School of Biological, Environmental, and Earth Sciences, The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS 39406, USA
2
Charlotte Harbor Field Laboratory, Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Port Charlotte, FL 33954, USA
3
Center for Fisheries Research and Development, The University of Southern Mississippi, Ocean Springs, MS 39564, USA
Sawfishes (family Pristidae) are among the most threatened families of marine fishes worldwide (Dulvy et al. 2014), with all five species listed as Critically Endangered or Endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species (see Dulvy et al. 2016). All sawfishes have und
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