Human impact on the McMurdo Dry Valley soils of Antarctica: Extending the limits of DNA detection
type: CreativeWork
description: Antarctica is commonly regarded as the most pristine place on Earth and is safeguarded by the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS). The ATS designates the continent as a “natural reserve, devoted to peace and science” and sets out environmental principles regulating human activities. The obligations under the ATS include providing environmental impact assessments and leaving the environment minimally impacted after all operations. The associated human footprint inevitably increases as human activity increases in intensity and diversity on the continent. The human footprint is not clearly defined, and most investigation has focused on visible disturbances of physical (e.g., soil disturbance) and chemical (e.g., hydrocarbon spills) nature. The unseen human footprint remains to be investigated and quantified, which includes released genetic materials and human-associated microorganisms. Given the extremely low biomass in most of terrestrial Antarctica, these materials' presence can be a reliable indicator of human presence and activities. As part of New Zealand’s effort to carry out an evidence-based risk assessment of the McMurdo Dry Valley ecosystem (DryVER project), this research quantified human impact, in the form of DNA released from humans and human-associated microbiota, across spatial and temporal scales. This project was part of the MBIE grant entitled “Evidence-based Risk Assessment of the McMurdo Dry Valley Ecosystem”. Areas of human activity, including seasonal field camps and facilities zones, were selected as sampling sites in the McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDVs), from which soil samples were collected. Human-specific genetic and microbial markers were used with digital PCR to quantify human presence at the lowest possible detection limit across spatial scales. A marker targeting a human MT-CYB gene region was the best marker for detecting and predicting human trace up to 1 km from a highly occupied site. Human impact derived from mtDNA was accumulative with occupanc…
abstract: Antarctica is commonly regarded as the most pristine place on Earth and is safeguarded by the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS). The ATS designates the continent as a “natural reserve, devoted to peace and science” and sets out environmental principles regulating human activities. The obligations under the ATS include providing environmental impact assessments and leaving the environment minimally impacted after all operations. The associated human footprint inevitably increases as human activity increases in intensity and diversity on the continent. The human footprint is not clearly defined, and most investigation has focused on visible disturbances of physical (e.g., soil disturbance) and chemical (e.g., hydrocarbon spills) nature. The unseen human footprint remains to be investigated and quantified, which includes released genetic materials and human-associated microorganisms. Given the extremely low biomass in most of terrestrial Antarctica, these materials' presence can be a reliable indicator of human presence and activities. As part of New Zealand’s effort to carry out an evidence-based risk assessment of the McMurdo Dry Valley ecosystem (DryVER project), this research quantified human impact, in the form of DNA released from humans and human-associated microbiota, across spatial and temporal scales. This project was part of the MBIE grant entitled “Evidence-based Risk Assessment of the McMurdo Dry Valley Ecosystem”. Areas of human activity, including seasonal field camps and facilities zones, were selected as sampling sites in the McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDVs), from which soil samples were collected. Human-specific genetic and microbial markers were used with digital PCR to quantify human presence at the lowest possible detection limit across spatial scales. A marker targeting a human MT-CYB gene region was the best marker for detecting and predicting human trace up to 1 km from a highly occupied site. Human impact derived from mtDNA was accumulative with occupanc…
author: Wakerley, Georgia L.J.
keywords: Antarctica, McMurdo Dry Valleys, DNA, dPCR, human impact
license: https://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/bitstreams/05ebc839-b45e-4717-aa91-dcacdb0a4751/download
date published: 2024-05-21
date modified: 2026-07-24T05:57:41Z
provider: University Waikato
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: The University of Waikato