Detection and Identification of Environmental DNA from Beaked Whales on the Navy's Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Centre (AUTEC)
Abstract
Detection and identification of species, subspecies or stock of whales, dolphins and porpoises at sea remain challenging obligations for monitoring activities by the Department of Defense(DoD), particularly for cryptic or elusive species like beaked whales. The primary goal of this Limited Scope project was to quantify the detection of environmental (e)DNA from beaked whales on the Navy's Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Centre (AUTEC), using an acoustically assisted sampling design. The specific technical objectives of the research were to: 1) conduct small-boat surveys on the AUTEC range to locate beaked whales using the acoustic array; 2) collect seawater from the proximity of the beaked whales using a serial and spatial sampling design and filter seawater on location; 3) extract eDNA from filters and quantify eDNA of beaked whales or other cetacean species using droplet-digital (dd) PCR; 4) confirm species identity and novel haplotype variants by conventional sequencing of eDNA barcodes and next-generation sequencing of eDNA met barcodes, using primers from the mtDNA control region; and 5) relate the quantification of eDNA by dd PCR to the presence or absence of beaked whales detected by acoustic monitoring.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 24, 2021
- Accession Number
- AD1189833
Entities
People
- Charles S. Baker
- Charlotte Dunn
- Daniel N. Baker
- Debbie Steel
- Diane Claridge
- Holger Klinck
- Tom Fetherston
Organizations
- Cornell University
- Naval Undersea Warfare Center
- Oregon State University
- University of California, Santa Cruz