The identity of the Depuch Island rock-wallaby revealed through ancient DNA
Ancient DNA is becoming increasingly recognised as a tool in conservation biology to audit past biodiversity. The widespread loss of Australian biodiversity, especially endemic mammal populations, is of critical concern. An extreme example occurred on Depuch Island, situated off the north-west coast...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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CSIRO Publishing
2013
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/49636 |
| _version_ | 1848758283308892160 |
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| author | Haouchar, D. Haile, J. Spencer, P. Bunce, Michael |
| author_facet | Haouchar, D. Haile, J. Spencer, P. Bunce, Michael |
| author_sort | Haouchar, D. |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Ancient DNA is becoming increasingly recognised as a tool in conservation biology to audit past biodiversity. The widespread loss of Australian biodiversity, especially endemic mammal populations, is of critical concern. An extreme example occurred on Depuch Island, situated off the north-west coast of Western Australia, where an unidentified species of rock-wallaby (Petrogale sp.) became extinct as a result of predation by red foxes. Two potential candidate species, Petrogale lateralis and P. rothschildi, both have ranges adjacent to Depuch Island, making identification based on geography difficult. A museum bone (one of the only surviving Depuch Island specimens) was subjected to standard ancient DNA analyses and procedures. Mitochondrial DNA cytochrome b and hypervariable control region were targeted for species identification.AncientDNAwas successfully recovered from the bone: 200 base pairs (bp) of control region and 975 bp of the cytochrome b gene. Bayesian phylogenetic analyses were employed to model the Depuch Island rock-wallaby DNA sequences together with sequences of other rock-wallaby taxa from GenBank. Evidence suggests that of the two Petrogale lateralis subspecies proposed to have inhabited Depuch Island, Petrogale lateralis lateralis was identified as the most likely. The identification of the Depuch Island rock-wallaby population may assist in the reintroduction of an insurance population of Petrogale lateralis lateralis, which is becoming increasingly threatened on mainland Australia. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T09:41:31Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-49636 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T09:41:31Z |
| publishDate | 2013 |
| publisher | CSIRO Publishing |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-496362018-03-29T09:07:47Z The identity of the Depuch Island rock-wallaby revealed through ancient DNA Haouchar, D. Haile, J. Spencer, P. Bunce, Michael Past biodiversity Conservation Ancient DNA is becoming increasingly recognised as a tool in conservation biology to audit past biodiversity. The widespread loss of Australian biodiversity, especially endemic mammal populations, is of critical concern. An extreme example occurred on Depuch Island, situated off the north-west coast of Western Australia, where an unidentified species of rock-wallaby (Petrogale sp.) became extinct as a result of predation by red foxes. Two potential candidate species, Petrogale lateralis and P. rothschildi, both have ranges adjacent to Depuch Island, making identification based on geography difficult. A museum bone (one of the only surviving Depuch Island specimens) was subjected to standard ancient DNA analyses and procedures. Mitochondrial DNA cytochrome b and hypervariable control region were targeted for species identification.AncientDNAwas successfully recovered from the bone: 200 base pairs (bp) of control region and 975 bp of the cytochrome b gene. Bayesian phylogenetic analyses were employed to model the Depuch Island rock-wallaby DNA sequences together with sequences of other rock-wallaby taxa from GenBank. Evidence suggests that of the two Petrogale lateralis subspecies proposed to have inhabited Depuch Island, Petrogale lateralis lateralis was identified as the most likely. The identification of the Depuch Island rock-wallaby population may assist in the reintroduction of an insurance population of Petrogale lateralis lateralis, which is becoming increasingly threatened on mainland Australia. 2013 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/49636 10.1071/AM11044 CSIRO Publishing restricted |
| spellingShingle | Past biodiversity Conservation Haouchar, D. Haile, J. Spencer, P. Bunce, Michael The identity of the Depuch Island rock-wallaby revealed through ancient DNA |
| title | The identity of the Depuch Island rock-wallaby revealed through ancient DNA |
| title_full | The identity of the Depuch Island rock-wallaby revealed through ancient DNA |
| title_fullStr | The identity of the Depuch Island rock-wallaby revealed through ancient DNA |
| title_full_unstemmed | The identity of the Depuch Island rock-wallaby revealed through ancient DNA |
| title_short | The identity of the Depuch Island rock-wallaby revealed through ancient DNA |
| title_sort | identity of the depuch island rock-wallaby revealed through ancient dna |
| topic | Past biodiversity Conservation |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/49636 |