Molecular data contradicts historical records and cautions translocation of the Lord Howe Island masked owl
- Authors: Hogan, Fiona , Campbell, Catriona , Harrison, Katharine , Milledge, David , Cooke, Raylene
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Biological Conservation Vol. 159, no. (2013), p. 313-320
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Masked owls, reputedly all of the Tasmanian race (Tyto novaehollandiae castanops) were introduced onto Lord Howe Island (LHI) in the 1920s in an attempt to control the black rat (Rattus rattus). This attempt, however, has been unsuccessful and a co-eradication of the rats and masked owls has been planned to reduce the threat to endemic species and breeding seabirds on the island. As the Tasmanian masked owl is considered endangered, translocation of LHI masked owls to Tasmania has been suggested. Before translocation is considered the ancestry of the LHI masked owl needs to be confirmed, as LHI masked owls are typically smaller and paler than individuals occurring in Tasmania. Here we sequenced three sections of mitochondrial gene regions: cytochrome b, ATP6 and ND3 to assess the provenance of the LHI masked owl and screened a suite of microsatellite loci isolated from the barn owl (Tyto alba) to assess contemporary divergence. Phylogenetic analysis revealed two clades, one exhibited by individuals from LHI and south-eastern mainland Australia and the second by those from Tasmania. Cross species amplification of microsatellite loci was successful, with 18 loci polymorphic. Genotypic data revealed significant sub-structuring between LHI, south-eastern mainland Australia and Tasmania. Data presented here indicate that the south-eastern mainland masked owl was introduced to LHI and subsequently reproduced. The genetic integrity of the LHI masked owl population is therefore questionable and as such LHI individuals may not be suitable for translocation to Tasmania.
Conservation biology : a 'crisis discipline'
- Authors: Hogan, Fiona , Cooke, Raylene
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: The Victorian Naturalist Vol. 126, no. 3 (2009), p. 92-98
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Conserving biodiversity is of utmost importance on a global scale. Species conservation, however, is a challenging task, which is often compounded by a lack of knowledge of target species. New advances in information technology and molecular techniques, however, are enabling conservation biologists to obtain large amounts of data quickly, which will certainly aid in assigning conservation priorities. This article reviews the use of genetics in conservation biology and highlights, using the Powerful Owl Ninox strenua as an example, how DNA can be a valuable source of data
Optimizing the use of shed feathers for genetic analysis
- Authors: Hogan, Fiona , Cooke, Raylene , Burridge, Christopher , Norman, Janette
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Molecular Ecology Resources Vol. 8, no. 3 (2008), p. 561-567
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Shed feathers obtained by noninvasive genetic sampling (NGS) are a valuable source of DNA for genetic studies of birds. They can be collected across a large geographical range and facilitate research on species that would otherwise be extremely difficult to study. A limitation of this approach is uncertainty concerning the quality of the extracted DNA. Here we investigate the relationship between feather type, feather condition and DNA quality (amplification success) in order to provide a simple, cost-effective method for screening samples prior to genetic analysis. We obtained 637 shed feathers of the powerful owl (Ninox strenua) from across its range in southeastern Australia. The extracted DNA was amplified using polymerase chain reaction for a range of markers including mitochondrial DNA, ND3 and nuclear DNA, a simple sequence repeat (Nst02) and a portion of the CHD-1 gene (P2/P8). We found that feather condition significantly influenced the amplification success of all three loci, with feathers characterized as ‘good’ having greater success. Feather type was found to be of lower importance, with good quality feathers of all types consistently producing high success for all three loci. We also found that the successful amplification of multilocus genotypes was dependant on the condition of the starting material and was highly correlated with successful amplification of the sex-linked CHD-1 locus. Samples with low DNA quality have a higher probability of amplification failure and are more likely to produce incorrect genotypes; therefore, identifying samples with high DNA quality can save substantial time and cost associated with the genetic analysis of NGS. As a result, we propose a method for screening shed feathers in order to provide a subset of samples which will have a greater probability of containing high quality DNA suitable for the amplification of multilocus genotypes.