Monitoring kororā/little blue penguin populations on Banks Peninsula using a portable MinION sequencing device

Ms Lucy Howell¹, Dr Michelle LaRue², Associate Professor Tammy Steeves¹, Dr Sarah Flanagan¹

¹School of Biological Sciences, University Of Canterbury, Ōtautahi/Christchurch, New Zealand, ²Gateway Antarctica, School of Earth and Environment, University of Canterbury, Ōtautahi/Christchurch, New Zealand

Abstract:

New Zealand’s unique birdlife is experiencing increasing pressure through the disturbance of critical environments and predation by introduced mammals. Even species of least concern are often dependent on the continued efforts of conservation groups. One such species is the kororā/little blue penguin (Eudyptula minor), the smallest of the world’s penguin species. Found across New Zealand and Southern Australia, the population in the Canterbury region is unique due to the presence of the white-flippered morphotype. Local efforts to monitor the charismatic species are often time and labour intensive, and genetic analysis is invasive. With increasing research in the application of eDNA to the field of population genetics, I will discuss the potential of portable nanopore sequencing for monitoring kororā populations using the MinION device (Oxford Nanopore Technologies). I will then highlight the challenges that arose during our pilot study on a group of rescue kororā at the International Antarctic Centre in Christchurch, where we sequenced feather and tank water samples using universal marine vertebrate MarVer3 primers, targeting a region of the 16s gene. I will compare Sanger and MinION sequencing technologies for sequencing multiple individuals using potentially degraded eDNA samples and discuss the sensitivity of MinION sequencing for detecting both our target species, kororā, and their prey species, Sprattus sprattus, in our captive population samples. I will highlight the future direction of our research as we consider the opportunities portable eDNA sequencing presents for informing the conservation management of the Banks Peninsula Kororā population.

Biography:

Lucy is a PhD student at the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Canterbury. She is supervised by Dr Sarah Flanagan and co-supervised by Dr Michelle LaRue, with Associate professor Tammy Steeves as an associate supervisor. Lucy’s research looks at the applicability of eDNA for assessing kororā/little blue penguin populations, particularly the white-flippered morphotype unique to the Canterbury region. She moved to Christchurch from Australia for her Masters, where she investigated eDNA as a tool for monitoring  Antarctic vertebrates. She maintains an interest in adapting eDNA protocols to remote environments by using portable technology for in-field analysis.