Affiliations 

  • 1 College of Life Sciences, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu 241000, Anhui, China College of Life Sciences, Anhui Normal University Wuhu 241000, Anhui China
  • 2 Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of the Conservation and Exploitation of Biological Resources, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu 241000, Anhui, China Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of the Conservation and Exploitation of Biological Resources, Anhui Normal University Wuhu 241000, Anhui China
  • 3 Centre for Insect Systematics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia Centre for Insect Systematics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 43600 Bangi, Selangor Malaysia
  • 4 Vertebrate Zoology at World Museum, National Museums Liverpool, William Brown Street, Liverpool, United Kingdom Vertebrate Zoology at World Museum, National Museums Liverpool, William Brown Street Liverpool United Kingdom
Biodivers Data J, 2023;11:e108438.
PMID: 37736305 DOI: 10.3897/BDJ.11.e108438

Abstract

Mammalian DNA extracted from the invertebrates, especially blowfly-derived DNA, has been suggested as a useful tool to complement traditional field methods for terrestrial mammal monitoring. However, the accuracy of the estimated location of the target mammal detected from blowfly-derived DNA is largely dependent on the knowledge of blowflies' dispersal range. Presently, published data on adult blowfly dispersal capabilities remain scarce and mostly limited to temperate and subtropical regions, with no published report on the adult blowfly dispersal range in the Tropics. We seek to determine the blowfly flight range and dispersal activity in a tropical plantation in Malaysia by mark-release-recapture of approximately 3000 wild blowflies by use of rotten fish-baited traps for nine consecutive days. Out of the 3000 marked Chrysomya spp., only 1.5% (43) were recaptured during the 9-day sampling period. The majority of the blowflies (79%) were recaptured 1 km from the release point, while 20.9% were caught about 2-3 km from the release point. One individual blowfly travelled as far as 3 km and before being recaptured, which was the maximum dispersal distance recorded in this study. This result suggests that the estimated locations of the mammals detected from blowfly-derived iDNA is likely to be within 1-2 km radius from the origin of the blowfly sampling location. However, a more accurate estimated distance between the target mammal and the blowfly sampling location requires further investigation due to various factors, such as blowfly species, wind speed and direction that may potentially affect the blowfly dispersal activities. This study contributes further understanding on the development of a blowfly-derived DNA method as a mammalian monitoring tool in the tropical forests.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.