TY - JOUR

T1 - Mucus: aiding elasmobranch conservation through non-invasive genetic sampling

AU - Lieber, Lilian

AU - Berrow, Simon

AU - Johnston, Emmett

AU - Hall, Graham

AU - Hall, Jackie

AU - Gubili, Chrysoula

AU - Sims, David W.

AU - Jones, Catherine S.

AU - Noble, Leslie R.

PY - 2013/9/6

Y1 - 2013/9/6

N2 - : Large-scale genetic sampling by non-invasive methods is of vital importance for the conservation of vulnerable or elusive species. In the marine environment, non-invasive genetic sampling can provide a powerful alternative to conventional biopsies. We designed and imple- mented mucus swabbing for a free-ranging elasmobranch, thereby demonstrating the utility ofthis method in the field. We report the first attempt at mucus collection from 30 plankton-feeding basking sharks Cetorhinus maximus from 3 spatially distinct ‘hotspots’ in Irish waters.C. maximus DNA was successfully extracted and verified using DNA barcoding of the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome c oxidase 1 gene (99% sequence similarity) and basking shark species-specific multi-plex PCRs derived from the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer 2 locus. Mitochondrial control region sequencing (1086 bp) showed that Irish samples were dominated by 2 haplotypes previously found to be globally distributed. Additionally, 1 novel haplotype was defined from western County Kerry. On-going genetic tagging will eventually provide more accurate estimates of global basking shark population structuring, abundance and behavioural ecology.

AB - : Large-scale genetic sampling by non-invasive methods is of vital importance for the conservation of vulnerable or elusive species. In the marine environment, non-invasive genetic sampling can provide a powerful alternative to conventional biopsies. We designed and imple- mented mucus swabbing for a free-ranging elasmobranch, thereby demonstrating the utility ofthis method in the field. We report the first attempt at mucus collection from 30 plankton-feeding basking sharks Cetorhinus maximus from 3 spatially distinct ‘hotspots’ in Irish waters.C. maximus DNA was successfully extracted and verified using DNA barcoding of the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome c oxidase 1 gene (99% sequence similarity) and basking shark species-specific multi-plex PCRs derived from the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer 2 locus. Mitochondrial control region sequencing (1086 bp) showed that Irish samples were dominated by 2 haplotypes previously found to be globally distributed. Additionally, 1 novel haplotype was defined from western County Kerry. On-going genetic tagging will eventually provide more accurate estimates of global basking shark population structuring, abundance and behavioural ecology.

U2 - 10.3354/esr00524

DO - 10.3354/esr00524

M3 - Article

VL - 21

SP - 215

EP - 222

JO - Endangered Species Research

JF - Endangered Species Research

SN - 1863-5407

IS - 3

ER -