Haplotyping cryptic Adelie penguin taxa using low-cost, high
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TitleHaplotyping cryptic Adelie penguin taxa using low-cost, high-resolution melt curvesAbstractDistinguishing morphologically cryptic taxa, by definition, requires genetic data such as DNA sequences. However, DNA sequences may not be obtained easily for taxa from remote sites. Here we provide the details of a high-resolution melt-curve-based method using taxon-specific primers that can distinguish two taxa of Adelie penguins, and that will be usable in Antarctica when combined with some of the newly developed field-deployable thermal cyclers. We suggest that the wider adoption of field-deployable polymerase-chain-reaction-based techniques will enable faster assignation of haplotype to individuals in situ, and so allow the targeting of observations and sample collection to specimens relevant to the research question. Targeting individuals will also reduce the need to repeatedly handle animals and reduce the time and travel required to complete field work. Copyright 2016 The Royal Society of New Zealand.AcknowledgementsAcknowledgements Paul Nield was supported by the Science Teaching Leadership Programme administered by the Royal Society of New Zealand. Thanks to Kirsty Smith for constructive comments. Funding Thanks to the Cawthron Institute, the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment, Antarctica New Zealand, and the University of Waikato for funding and logistic support.
