Combining surface and soil environmental DNA with artificial cover objects to improve terrestrial reptile survey detection.

ABSTRACT: Reptiles are increasingly of conservation concern due to their susceptibility to habitat loss, emerging disease, and harvest in the wildlife trade. However, reptile populations are often difficult to monitor given the frequency of crypsis in their life history. This difficulty has left uncertain the conservation status of many species and the efficacy of conservation actions unknown. Environmental DNA (eDNA) surveys consistently elevate the detection rate of species they are designed to monitor, and while their use is promising for terrestrial reptile conservation, successes in developing such surveys have been sparse. We tested the degree to which inclusion of surface and soil eDNA sampling into conventional artificial-cover methods elevates the detection probability of a small, cryptic t

SUBMITTER: Kyle KE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10087970 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature