Abstract:
There are over 40 species of native geckos present in New Zealand. Many of these species
have not been formally described, and there is limited information on their ecology or
population recovery following introduced predator control. This is in part due to the cryptic
nature and low population size of many gecko species. The development of eDNA
techniques could provide an easier method to study and monitor wild geckos. If successful,
gecko eDNA could be detected from faecal samples as well as from resources they use, such
as flowers. I developed a real-time PCR assay for the detection of gecko species using
primers which bind to the 16S ribosomal RNA gene. The assay can distinguish between
gecko and skink samples. Performance indicators demonstrated that the assay could still be
further optimised, but was suitable for use in further testing. Trials were performed with
captive geckos at the Auckland Zoo, presenting them with flowers and nectar proxy sucrose
solutions to interact with. Data collection at this stage was limited by timing and equipment,
resulting in no evidence of any interactions between geckos and flowers to test. As such, the
assay has not been shown to be able to identify geckos from floral or nectar samples. A
faecal sample from a captive gecko was also tested with the assay and indicated that it
could successfully identify geckos in that context. Future development of this assay would
include further optimisation, blind-panel validation to assess its accuracy, more robust data
collection methods, and if necessary, development of an extraction protocol to allow
detection of eDNA from floral samples.
