DNA extraction and amplification of faecal samples from Buller’s Shearwater (Puffinis bulleri), Fairy Prion (Pachyptila turtur), & Fluttering Shearwater (Puffinus gavia). Report prepared for North New Zealand Seabird Trust. 7 p.

Abstract

The intention of the current research was to test the feasibility of applying DNA-based prey item identification to analysing the diet of three New Zealand sea bird species, using ethanol preserved faecal samples. DNA was extracted from 20 faecal samples collected from Buller’s shearwaters (Puffinis bulleri), Fluttering Shearwaters (Puffinus gavial), and Fairy prions (Pachyptila turtur), received from the Northern New Zealand Seabird Trust. PCR amplification was then used to selectively amplify short sections of the 16S gene which can be used for identification. PCR products were run on an agarose gel, as a success/fail test for amplification. DNA was successfully amplified in only three of the twenty samples despite suitably high nucleotide concentrations in the DNA extracts, indicating that the primers used may not be suitable for this research.