Ecology

Context (archaeology)

Fauna

Gene

Invertebrate

Biology

Paleontology

Biodiversity

Habitat

Vertebrate

Biochemistry

Arboreal locomotion

Molecular Ecology

In the current context of global change and human-induced biodiversity decline, there is an urgent need for developing sampling approaches able to accurately describe the state of biodiversity. Traditional surveys of vertebrate fauna involve time-consuming and skill-demanding field methods. Recently, the use of DNA derived from invertebrate parasites (leeches and blowflies) was suggested as a new tool for vertebrate diversity assessment. Bloodmeal analyses of arthropod disease vectors have long been performed to describe their feeding behaviour, for epidemiological purposes. On the other hand, this existing expertise has not yet been applied to investigate vertebrate fauna per se. Here, we evaluate the usefulness of hematophagous dipterans as vertebrate samplers. Blood-fed sand flies and mosquitoes were collected in Amazonian forest sites and analysed using high-throughput sequencing of short mitochondrial markers. Bloodmeal identifications highlighted contrasting ecological features and feeding behaviour amo...

<scp>iDNA</scp> screening: Disease vectors as vertebrate samplers

iDNA screening: Disease vectors as vertebrate samplers