Use of Ancient Sedimentary DNA as a Novel Conservation Tool for High-Altitude Tropical Biodiversity

• Published in: Conservation biology 2014-04, Vol.28 (2), p.446-455
• Main Authors: BOESSENKOOL, SANNE, MCGLYNN, GAYLE, EPP, LAURA S., TAYLOR, DAVID, PIMENTEL, MANUEL, GIZAW, ABEL, NEMOMISSA, SILESHI, BROCHMANN, CHRISTIAN, POPP, MAGNUS
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: ADN seda; Albertine Rift; Alchemy; Altitude; Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Applied ecology; biodiversidad de grandes altitudes; Biodiversity; Biodiversity conservation; Biological and medical sciences; Conservation biology; Conservation of Natural Resources - methods; Conservation, protection and management of environment and wildlife; Contributed Papers; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; DNA, Plant - analysis; Ecological genetics; Environmental conditions; Falla Albertina; Fossils; Fresh water ecosystems; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; Geologic Sediments - analysis; high-elevation biodiversity; lake sediment; metabarcoding; Paleoecology; Parks, reserves, wildlife conservation. Endangered species: population survey and restocking; Particular ecosystems; Plant biodiversity; plantas vasculares; Plants - classification; Plants - genetics; Pollen; Rwanda; sedaDNA; sedimento lacustre; Sediments; Synecology; Taxa; vascular plants; Vegetation; Virunga volcanoes; volcanes Virunga
• ISSN: 0888-8892; 1523-1739
• DOI: 10.1111/cobi.12195

Conservation of biodiversity may in the future increasingly depend upon the availability of scientific information to set suitable restoration targets. In traditional paleoecology, sediment-based pollen provides a means to define preanthropogenic impact conditions, but problems in establishing the exact provenance and ecologically meaningful levels of taxonomic resolution of the evidence are limiting. We explored the extent to which the use of sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) may complement pollen data in reconstructing past alpine environments in the tropics. We constructed a record of afro-alpine plants retrieved from DNA preserved in sediment cores from 2 volcanic crater sites in the Albertine Rift, eastern Africa. The record extended well beyond the onset of substantial anthropogenic effects on tropical mountains. To ensure high-quality taxonomic inference from the sedaDNA sequences, we built an extensive DNA reference library covering the majority of the afro-alpine flora, by sequencing DNA from taxonomically verified specimens. Comparisons with pollen records from the same sediment cores showed that plant diversity recovered with sedaDNA improved vegetation reconstructions based on pollen records by revealing both additional taxa and providing increased taxonomic resolution. Furthermore, combining the 2 measures assisted in distinguishing vegetation change at different geographic scales; sedaDNA almost exclusively reflects local vegetation, whereas pollen can potentially originate from a wide area that in highlands in particular can span several ecozones. Our results suggest that sedaDNA may provide information on restoration targets and the nature and magnitude of human-induced environmental changes, including in high conservation priority, biodiversity hotspots, where understanding of preanthropogenic impact (or reference) conditions is highly limited. La conservación de la biodiversidad en el futuro puede depender cada vez más de la disponibilidad de la información científica para establecer objetivos de restauración adecuados. En la paleoecología tradicional el polen hallado en sedimentos proporciona un medio para definir las condiciones de impactos preantropogénicas, pero hay problemas en el momento de establecer su proveniencia exacta y los niveles ecológicamente significativos de su resolución taxonómica. Exploramos el grado en el que el uso de ADN sedimentario antiguo (ADN seda) puede complementar la información del polen en la reconstrucció