The Past, Present, and Future of Tuna at Lake Moāwhitu: Drawing on the two knowledge baskets of Mātauranga Māori and Western Science

Mapping Intimacies ◽

10.26686/wgtn.15086241 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Russleigh Parai

Keyword(s):

Algal Blooms ◽

Human Impacts ◽

Anthropogenic Impacts ◽

Land Use Changes ◽

Environmental Dna ◽

Western Science ◽

Lake Water Quality ◽

Dna Metabarcoding ◽

Remedial Intervention ◽

Life Force

Knowledge generated through experience and understanding relies on the senses, one of which is listening. This thesis provides an opportunity to hear the diminishing voice of tuna utilizing paleolimnological techniques and our natural senses through traditional Indigenous methodologies in order to track the presence of tuna back in time. This study provides historical environmental context of Lake Moāwhitu catchment (Rangitoto ki te Tonga) as a once significant mahinga kai site for manawhenua, Ngāti Koata. The strong connection to place is not lost on Ngāti Koata despite for many their geographic detachment to their turangawaewae. They hear the voice of tuna calling them back to sustain them as they have sustained Māori from the beginning of time. Now considered wāhi tapu due to significant degradation, Moāwhitu is currently undergoing remedial intervention by Ngāti Koata, DoC, Lakes380 and stakeholders to restore the mauri (life force) of the Lake and adjacent wetland ecosystem. Drawing from two distinct knowledge streams of western science and mātauranga Māori, this study draws new (on-site) understandings about the anthropogenic impacts on tuna as well as their status and relationship as tuākana (older sibling) to Māori. Through this journey a ‘te ao Māori’ (Māori worldview) is explored, revealing a historically healthy and abundant tuna population and thriving tuākana-teina relationship up until recent decades. This information complements the environmental reconstruction derived from western science methods applied to a lake Moawhitu sediment core spanning the last 1000 years or so. Through a combination of palynology, hyperspectral scanning and bacterial environmental DNA metabarcoding, it is clear that lake water quality remained high despite various historical land cover and land use changes, until recent decades when deteriorating quality has accompanied a rise in cyanobacteria and toxic algal blooms. These changes appear to coincide with intensified pastoralism accompanying draining of the lake and fringing wetlands since the mid-twentieth century. How tuna have endured these recent human impacts and why their survival and sustainability is important to Aotearoa today is at the heart of this thesis which seeks to explore how two vastly different knowledge streams converge and navigate unchartered waters. The two knowledge baskets (with their respective world views) are held up for the reader to view and consider what an effective collaborative partnership looks like by recognising basic intrinsic values of respect, reciprocity and kindness. The challenge remains to draw out the very best of people (he tangata) as a way to bring about urgent regenerative solutions for our tuākana, tuna, and in turn humanity itself.

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The Past, Present, and Future of Tuna at Lake Moāwhitu: Drawing on the two knowledge baskets of Mātauranga Māori and Western Science

10.26686/wgtn.15086241.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Russleigh Parai

Keyword(s):

Algal Blooms ◽

Human Impacts ◽

Anthropogenic Impacts ◽

Land Use Changes ◽

Environmental Dna ◽

Western Science ◽

Lake Water Quality ◽

Dna Metabarcoding ◽

Remedial Intervention ◽

Life Force

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Application of environmental DNA metabarcoding in a lake with extensive algal blooms

Limnology ◽

10.1007/s10201-021-00663-1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Qianqian Wu ◽

Masayuki K. Sakata ◽

Deyi Wu ◽

Hiroki Yamanaka ◽

Toshifumi Minamoto

Keyword(s):

Algal Blooms ◽

Environmental Dna ◽

Dna Metabarcoding

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Environmental DNA Metabarcoding for Simultaneous Monitoring and Ecological Assessment of Many Harmful Algae

10.1101/2020.10.01.322941 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Emily Jacobs-Palmer ◽

Ramón Gallego ◽

Kelly Cribari ◽

Abigail Keller ◽

Ryan P. Kelly

Keyword(s):

Algal Blooms ◽

Cold Water ◽

Global Climate ◽

Puget Sound ◽

Environmental Dna ◽

Harmful Algae ◽

Social Consequences ◽

Ecological Communities ◽

Ecological Context ◽

Dna Metabarcoding

AbstractHarmful algae can have profound economic, environmental, and social consequences. As the timing, frequency, and severity of harmful algal blooms (HABs) change alongside global climate, efficient tools to monitor and understand the current ecological context of these taxa are increasingly important. Here we employ environmental DNA metabarcoding to identify patterns in a wide variety of harmful algae and associated ecological communities in the Hood Canal of Puget Sound in Washington State, USA. We track trends of presence and abundance in a series of water samples across nearly two years. We find putative harmful algal sequences in a majority of samples, suggesting that these groups are routinely present in local waters. We report patterns in variants of the economically important genus Pseudo-nitzschia (family Bacillariaceae), as well as multiple harmful algal taxa previously unknown or poorly documented in the region, including a cold-water variant from the saxitoxin-producing genus Alexandrium (family Gonyaulacaceae), two variants from the karlotoxin-producing genus Karlodinium (family Kareniaceae), and one variant from the parasitic genus Hematodinium (family Syndiniaceae). We then use data on environmental variables and the biological community surrounding each algal taxon to illustrate the ecological context in which these species are commonly found. Environmental DNA metabarcoding thus simultaneously (1) alerts us to potential new or cryptic occurrences of harmful algae, (2) expands our knowledge of the co-occurring conditions and species associated with the growth of these organisms in changing marine environments, and (3) provides a tool for monitoring and management moving forward.

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Dynamics of biotic and abiotic markers of the Anthropocene at Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve, California, USA

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-6685 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

M. Allison Stegner ◽

SeanPaul La Selle ◽

Brian Sherrod ◽

Anthony Barnosky ◽

Elizabeth Hadly

Keyword(s):

Computed Tomography ◽

Algal Blooms ◽

Human Impacts ◽

Anthropogenic Impacts ◽

Sediment Cores ◽

Dry Season ◽

Global Changes ◽

Sedimentation Rates ◽

Low Density ◽

The 1950S

Human activities changed our planet over the course of the Holocene, but the scale of impacts increased dramatically around the mid-20th century, representing the start of the Anthropocene. These pervasive anthropogenic impacts, including pollution, road-building, the rise of plastics, etc., are comparable in magnitude, uniqueness, and geologic perseverance to global changes that mark previous major geologic time intervals. To identify the preservable global and local signals that might be used to characterize the Anthropocene, we examine sediment cores from Searsville Reservoir, a 129-year-old reservoir located in the eastern foothills of the San Francisco Peninsula. We collected eight sediment cores ranging from 7.4 to 8.5 meters in length that appear to have bottomed out on the pre-reservoir surface, indicating average sedimentation rates of 6 to 7 cm per year. This exceptionally high sedimentation rate allows us to explore the Anthropocene geologic record on a sub-annual scale.Our analyses to date include sedimentary DNA (sedDNA), pollen, computed tomography (CT) scanning, Carbon and Nitrogen isotopes, radionuclides, Mercury, and X-ray fluorescence (XRF). We find a strong relationship between sediment type and both sedDNA and pollen frequency: sedDNA and pollen are more abundant in the thin, low-density units that are thought to be associated with lower sedimentation rates and high organic inputs during the dry season. SedDNA analyses successfully identified a diversity of insects and vertebrates to the species level, including invasive fish and mosquitos. Computed tomography scans of the cores revealed >300 distinct layers ranging in thickness from <1mm to ~30mm. Many of the thicker laminae show upward-fining, indicative of individual storm events. Sediment density generally decreases from the bottom to the top of the cores, consistent with both sediment compaction and increasing organic inputs as the reservoir filled with sediment and eutrophied. &#948;15N declined over the record, reflecting global &#948;15N depletion due to fossil fuel combustion and artificial nitrogen fertilization for agriculture. &#948;13C was fairly stable prior to around 1950, then became highly variable, possibly related to changes in aquatic productivity (algal blooms) that began in the 1950s. A sharp and well-defined peak in 137Cs provides evidence of nuclear testing in the 1950s and &#8216;60s, and serves as a secure chronological tie point for the year 1963. The 137Cs peak correlates well with the chronology estimated by counting back suspected annual couplets of high density (wet season)/low density (dry-season) sediments. Our analyses reveal a complex interplay between local and global human impacts at Searsville Reservoir, and document the onset of the Anthropocene epoch at fine scale. Searsville is particularly appropriate as a candidate Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point for the Anthropocene not just because of the unique and highly resolved nature of the sediments, but because the record itself is a direct consequence of human activity&#8212;the emplacement of a dam.

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Environmental DNA Metabarcoding for Simultaneous Monitoring and Ecological Assessment of Many Harmful Algae

Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution ◽

10.3389/fevo.2021.612107 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

Author(s):

Emily Jacobs-Palmer ◽

Ramón Gallego ◽

Kelly Cribari ◽

Abigail G. Keller ◽

Ryan P. Kelly

Keyword(s):

Algal Blooms ◽

Cold Water ◽

Global Climate ◽

Puget Sound ◽

Environmental Dna ◽

Harmful Algae ◽

Social Consequences ◽

Ecological Communities ◽

Ecological Context ◽

Dna Metabarcoding

Harmful algae can have profound economic, environmental, and social consequences. As the timing, frequency, and severity of harmful algal blooms (HABs) change alongside global climate, efficient tools to monitor and understand the current ecological context of these taxa are increasingly important. Here we employ environmental DNA metabarcoding to identify patterns in a wide variety of potentially harmful algae and associated ecological communities in the Hood Canal of Puget Sound in Washington State, USA. Tracking trends of occurrence in a series of water samples over a period of 19 months, we find algal sequences from genera with harmful members in a majority of samples, suggesting that these groups are routinely present in local waters. We report patterns in variants of the economically important genus Pseudo-nitzschia (of which some members produce domoic acid; family Bacillariaceae), as well as multiple potentially harmful algal taxa previously unknown or poorly documented in the region, including a cold-water variant from the genus Alexandrium (of which some members produce saxitoxin; family Gonyaulacaceae), two variants from the genus Karlodinium (of which some members produce karlotoxins; family Kareniaceae), and one variant from the parasitic genus Hematodinium (family Syndiniaceae). We then use data on environmental variables and the biological community surrounding each algal taxon to illustrate the ecological context in which they are commonly found. Environmental DNA metabarcoding thus simultaneously (1) alerts us to potential new or cryptic occurrences of algae from harmful genera, (2) expands our knowledge of the co-occurring conditions and species associated with the growth of these organisms in changing marine environments, and (3) suggests a pathway for multispecies monitoring and management moving forward.

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COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN FISH COLLECTION BY NATIONAL CENSUS ON RIVER ENVIRONMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL DNA METABARCODING

Journal of Japan Society of Civil Engineers Ser B1 (Hydraulic Engineering) ◽

10.2208/jscejhe.74.5_i_415 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 74 (5) ◽

pp. I_415-I_420 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Yoshihisa AKAMATSU ◽

Takayoshi TSUZUKI ◽

Ryota YOKOYAMA ◽

Yayoi FUNAHASHI ◽

Munehiro OHTA ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Comparative Study ◽

Environmental Dna ◽

Dna Metabarcoding ◽

Fish Collection

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Environmental DNA for functional diversity

10.1093/oso/9780198767220.003.0010 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Pierre Taberlet ◽

Aurélie Bonin ◽

Lucie Zinger ◽

Eric Coissac

Keyword(s):

Functional Groups ◽

Functional Diversity ◽

Environmental Dna ◽

Soil Organisms ◽

Meaningful Information ◽

Dna Metabarcoding ◽

Pros And Cons ◽

Target Community

Chapter 10 “Environmental DNA for functional diversity” discusses the potential of environmental DNA to assess functional diversity. It first focuses on DNA metabarcoding and discusses the extent to which this approach can be used and/or optimized to retrieve meaningful information on the functions of the target community. This knowledge usually involves coarsely defined functional groups (e.g., woody, leguminous, graminoid plants; shredders or decomposer soil organisms; pathogenicity or decomposition role of certain microorganisms). Chapter 10 then introduces metagenomics and metatranscriptomics approaches, their advantages, but also the challenges and solutions to appropriately sampling, sequencing these complex DNA/RNA populations. Chapter 10 finally presents several strategies and software to analyze metagenomes/metatranscriptomes, and discusses their pros and cons.

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Environmental DNA

10.1093/oso/9780198767220.001.0001 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 137

Author(s):

Pierre Taberlet ◽

Aurélie Bonin ◽

Lucie Zinger ◽

Eric Coissac

Keyword(s):

Graduate Students ◽

Feeding Habits ◽

Environmental Dna ◽

Research Field ◽

Background Information ◽

Ecological Processes ◽

Biodiversity Research ◽

Dna Metabarcoding ◽

Standard Information

Environmental DNA (eDNA), i.e. DNA released in the environment by any living form, represents a formidable opportunity to gather high-throughput and standard information on the distribution or feeding habits of species. It has therefore great potential for applications in ecology and biodiversity management. However, this research field is fast-moving, involves different areas of expertise and currently lacks standard approaches, which calls for an up-to-date and comprehensive synthesis. Environmental DNA for biodiversity research and monitoring covers current methods based on eDNA, with a particular focus on “eDNA metabarcoding”. Intended for scientists and managers, it provides the background information to allow the design of sound experiments. It revisits all steps necessary to produce high-quality metabarcoding data such as sampling, metabarcode design, optimization of PCR and sequencing protocols, as well as analysis of large sequencing datasets. All these different steps are presented by discussing the potential and current challenges of eDNA-based approaches to infer parameters on biodiversity or ecological processes. The last chapters of this book review how DNA metabarcoding has been used so far to unravel novel patterns of diversity in space and time, to detect particular species, and to answer new ecological questions in various ecosystems and for various organisms. Environmental DNA for biodiversity research and monitoring constitutes an essential reading for all graduate students, researchers and practitioners who do not have a strong background in molecular genetics and who are willing to use eDNA approaches in ecology and biomonitoring.

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