Statewide | Seabirds
Molecular sexing of Alaska avifauna using quantitative PCR Presenter: Cherie Mckeeman , cmckeeman@usgs.gov, USGS Alaska Science Center
Eleni Petrou , epetrou@usgs.gov, USGS Alaska Science Center Laura Scott , lscott@usgs.gov, USGS Alaska Science Center Barbara Pierson , bpierson@usgs.gov, USGS Alaska Science Center Andrew Ramey , aramey@usgs.gov, USGS Alaska Science Center
For many aquatic bird species, identifying the sex of individuals based on visual examination of morphological characters is challenging; however, distinguishing sex is important to ecological and evolutionary investigations. Molecular methods, such as quantitative PCR (qPCR), may provide an alternative and more robust method for assigning sex to individual birds. The objective of this study was to develop, optimize, and apply a novel qPCR method to sex bird species inhabiting Alaska, including marine-adapted species. We targeted 6 genes that are present on the Z chromosome. We predicted males and females would be discernable by the relative difference in gene copy concentration. We extracted DNA from 80 individuals representing 8 species from 3 orders (Procellariiformes, Anseriformes, and Charadriiformes) that had previously been sexed through necropsy or visual inspection and an alternative molecular technique (i.e., CHD). We used logistic regression to build predictive models to assign sex. Next, we simulated qPCR results for 1,000 birds per taxon, based on results for our gene targets as they amplified within samples of each order, and estimated correct sex assignment to be 96.9%, 99.3%, and 100.0% accurate for Anseriformes, Charadriiformes, and Procellariiformes, respectively. Subsequently, we tested the performance of the models by analyzing additional samples not used in model building. We found that 100% of Anseriformes and 95% of Charadriiformes correctly assigned to previously determined sex. Our results suggest sex determination using qPCR represents a valuable tool for research and management of birds including marine-adapted species.
Alaska Marine Science Symposium 2023 230
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