Even platypuses aren’t safe from bushfires — a new DNA study tracks their disappearance

Subject : Environment

Section: Species in news

Context:

An evolutionary masterpiece- Platypus:

They are a species of monotremes but lay eggs.
They’re one of only five species of mammals that lays egg — the other four are echidnas.
They have webbed feet for swimming. And they have electroreceptors in their bills to help them find food in rivers and streams.
They are endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania.
It is one of the few species of venomous mammals, as the male platypus has a spur on the hind foot that delivers a venom, capable of causing severe pain to humans.

Impact of bushfire on aquatic animals:

Research shows aquatic invertebrates (animals with no backbones) and fish can be harmed by bushfire, especially when rain follows fire.
Bushfires burn and kill the vegetation that stabilizes the soil around rivers or streams. When rain follows fire, a lot of ash, soil and other debris can be washed into waterways. The water chemistry might change or there might be big increases in sediment, which makes the river or stream inhospitable for invertebrates and fish.
As platypuses feed on aquatic invertebrates such as yabbies, these flow on effects of fire could also impact them.

environmental DNA:

Just as people leave traces behind as they move through the environment (such as fingerprints, hair and skin cells), so do animals. These traces contain genetic material that can be analysed to identify the likely source. These are known as the ‘Environmental DNA’.

Source: DownToEarth