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Vegetation structure and ground cover attributes describe the occurrence of a newly discovered carnivorous marsupial on the Tweed Shield Volcano caldera, the endangered black-tailed dusky antechinus (Antechinus arktos).

ABSTRACT: The black-tailed dusky antechinus (Antechinus arktos) is a recently discovered, endangered, carnivorous marsupial mammal endemic to the Tweed Shield Volcano caldera, straddling the border between Queensland and New South Wales in eastern Australia. The species' preference for cool, high-altitude habitats makes it particularly vulnerable to a shifting climate as these habitats recede. Aside from basic breeding and dietary patterns, the species' ecology is largely unknown. Understanding fine-scale habitat attributes preferred by this endangered mammal is critical to employ successful conservation management. Here, we assess vegetation attributes of known habitats over three sites at Springbrook and Border Ranges National Parks, including detailed structure data and broad floristic assessment. Floristic compositional assessment of the high-altitude cloud rainforest indicated broad similarities. However, only 22% of plant species were shared between all sites indicating a high level of local endemism. This suggests a diverse assemblage of vegetation across A. arktos habitats. Habitat characteristics were related to capture records of A. arktos to determine potential fine-scale structural habitat requirements. Percentage of rock cover and leaf litter were the strongest predictors of A. arktos captures across survey sites, suggesting a need for foraging substrate and cover. Habitat characteristics described here will inform predictive species distribution models of this federally endangered species and are applicable to other mammal conservation programs.

SUBMITTER: Riordan CE

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7042678 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Vegetation structure and ground cover attributes describe the occurrence of a newly discovered carnivorous marsupial on the Tweed Shield Volcano caldera, the endangered black-tailed dusky antechinus (<i>Antechinus arktos</i>).

Riordan Caitlin E CE Pearce Coral C McDonald Bill J F BJF Gynther Ian I Baker Andrew M AM

Ecology and evolution 20200212 4

The black-tailed dusky antechinus (<i>Antechinus arktos</i>) is a recently discovered, endangered, carnivorous marsupial mammal endemic to the Tweed Shield Volcano caldera, straddling the border between Queensland and New South Wales in eastern Australia. The species' preference for cool, high-altitude habitats makes it particularly vulnerable to a shifting climate as these habitats recede. Aside from basic breeding and dietary patterns, the species' ecology is largely unknown. Understanding fin ...[more]

PMID: 32128142

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Project description:UnlabelledThe field of viral metagenomics has expanded our understanding of viral diversity from all three domains of life (Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya). Traditionally, viral metagenomic studies provide information about viral gene content but rarely provide knowledge about virion morphology and/or cellular host identity. Here we describe a new virus, Acidianus tailed spindle virus (ATSV), initially identified by bioinformatic analysis of viral metagenomic data sets from a high-temperature (80°C) acidic (pH 2) hot spring located in Yellowstone National Park, followed by more detailed characterization using only environmental samples without dependency on culturing. Characterization included the identification of the large tailed spindle virion morphology, determination of the complete 70.8-kb circular double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) viral genome content, and identification of its cellular host. Annotation of the ATSV genome revealed a potential three-domain gene product containing an N-terminal leucine-rich repeat domain, followed by a likely posttranslation regulatory region consisting of high serine and threonine content, and a C-terminal ESCRT-III domain, suggesting interplay with the host ESCRT system. The host of ATSV, which is most closely related to Acidianus hospitalis, was determined by a combination of analysis of cellular clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)/Cas loci and dual viral and cellular fluorescence in situ hybridization (viral FISH) analysis of environmental samples and confirmed by culture-based infection studies. This work provides an expanded pathway for the discovery, isolation, and characterization of new viruses using culture-independent approaches and provides a platform for predicting and confirming virus hosts.ImportanceVirus discovery and characterization have been traditionally accomplished by using culture-based methods. While a valuable approach, it is limited by the availability of culturable hosts. In this research, we report a virus-centered approach to virus discovery and characterization, linking viral metagenomic sequences to a virus particle, its sequenced genome, and its host directly in environmental samples, without using culture-dependent methods. This approach provides a pathway for the discovery, isolation, and characterization of new viruses. While this study used an acidic hot spring environment to characterize a new archaeal virus, Acidianus tailed spindle virus (ATSV), the approach can be generally applied to any environment to expand knowledge of virus diversity in all three domains of life.

Dataset Information

Vegetation structure and ground cover attributes describe the occurrence of a newly discovered carnivorous marsupial on the Tweed Shield Volcano caldera, the endangered black-tailed dusky antechinus (Antechinus arktos).

Publications

Vegetation structure and ground cover attributes describe the occurrence of a newly discovered carnivorous marsupial on the Tweed Shield Volcano caldera, the endangered black-tailed dusky antechinus (<i>Antechinus arktos</i>).

Similar Datasets

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