Faunal diversity dynamics of the Seychelles using environmental DNA

The Seychelles archipelago harbours a highly distinct biota with many endemic taxa, partly due to its remoteness yet (in part) continental origins as a remnant fragment of Gondwana. Being an island system, Seychelles biodiversity is generally highly threatened, which has major implications for human well-being in terms of ecosystem services and the importance of environmentally prominent tourism to the nation’s economy. To some extent the fauna and flora of Seychelles is well understood, but some elements are incompletely documented and their conservation status in the face of environmental change remain little-studied and poorly understood. This is true especially of freshwater and soil habitats, for which major challenges remain, including: (1) completing species inventories, establishing precise distributions, understanding intra- and inter-island genetic variation and connectivity; (2) developing workable monitoring techniques for often difficult-to-identify and survey, ecologically cryptic species; and (3) integrating these to better devise effective conservation management strategies. Working with a UK-Seychelles team, this project will conduct environmental DNA surveys of freshwater and soil environments to develop tools, and to generate and analyse data on the biodiversity, distribution, variation and conservation of Seychelles’ (native and invasive) wetland fauna.