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Evaluation of eDNA for groundwater invertebrate detection and monitoring: a case study with endangered Stygobromus (Amphipoda: Crangonyctidae)

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Abstract

Effective conservation and management of biodiversity is limited by a lack of critical knowledge on species’ distributions and abundances. This problem is particularly exacerbated for species living in habitats that are exceptionally difficult to access or survey, such as groundwater habitats. Environmental DNA (eDNA) represents a rapid, noninvasive, and potentially cost-effective new tool for detection and monitoring of biodiversity that occur in such habitats. In this study, we investigated the utility of eDNA in detecting the federally endangered Hay’s Spring Amphipod Stygobromus hayi and a co-occurring common congener S. tenuis potomacus from unique groundwater-associated habitats—hypotelminorheic seepage springs—in the Washington, DC metro area. We developed taxon-specific primers and probes for each species to amplify Stygobromus DNA using qPCR. In silico and in vitro validation demonstrated specificity of each designed assay. Assays were then used to screen water samples collected from ten seepage springs. Stygobromus hayi was detected at four seepage springs, including one potential new locality, while S. t. potomacus was detected at four springs, two of which were new localities. This study is the first to our knowledge to successfully employ an eDNA approach to detect rare or threatened invertebrates from subterranean ecosystems. Our study highlights challenges of employing an eDNA approach for the detection and monitoring of invertebrates in groundwater habitats that are difficult to study, including accounting for PCR inhibition and the potential for cryptic genetic diversity.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by a grant from the Friends of the Capital Crescent Trail and the town of Chevy Chase, Maryland, and the Illinois Natural History Survey. Sampling of S. hayi was authorized by a subpermit under U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Regional Endangered Species Recovery Permit TE-697823. This research was also authorized under National Park Service permit no. ROCR-2016-SCI-0014. We thank Jonathan Cybulski and Emily Petersen for assistance with field collections of water samples. We thank Michael Slay for providing specimens of non-target species for DNA analyses.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA

    Matthew L. Niemiller, Mark A. Davis & Steven J. Taylor

  2. Department of Biology, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI, USA

    Megan L. Porter

  3. Department of Environmental Science, American University, Washington, DC, USA

    Jenna Keany, Heather Gilbert & David C. Culver

  4. Department of Biology, American University, Washington, DC, USA

    Daniel W. Fong

  5. Virginia Natural Heritage Program, Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Richmond, VA, USA

    Christopher S. Hobson

  6. School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA

    K. Denise Kendall

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  1. Matthew L. Niemiller
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  2. Megan L. Porter
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  3. Jenna Keany
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  4. Heather Gilbert
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Correspondence to Matthew L. Niemiller.

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Niemiller, M.L., Porter, M.L., Keany, J. et al. Evaluation of eDNA for groundwater invertebrate detection and monitoring: a case study with endangered Stygobromus (Amphipoda: Crangonyctidae). Conservation Genet Resour 10, 247–257 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12686-017-0785-2

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