DNA Barcoding Freshwater Communities in the Former Fresh Kills Landfill

Freshkills Park on Staten Island was until recently the largest landfill in the world and is now undergoing the remarkable process of being transformed into a park. Habitat alteration constitutes the top threat to biological diversity globally, yet the extent to which reclamation efforts like this can reverse biodiversity loss is poorly known, underscoring the need for monitoring and research. Ideally, comprehensive and effective biological monitoring should include a suite of species and a range of sites. We are therefore monitoring freshwater communities along a gradient of reclaimed to relatively pristine ecosystems on Staten Island, in order to document effects of reclamation, investigate sustainability, advance knowledge of urban and suburban ecosystems, and investigate Freshkills’ ecological recovery. We are using DNA barcoding as part of this study to correctly identify members of these communities. Recently, four high school students conducted DNA barcode surveys of invasive red-eared slider turtles (Trachemys scripta), as well as native painted (Chrysemys picta) and snapping (Chelydra serpentina) turtles, and their parasitic leeches, as part of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory’s Urban Barcode Project. The students used the DNA Subway program to edit and analyze their sequences. Although the turtles and their leeches showed low genetic diversity, we identified four novel DNA barcodes in all for snapping and red-eared slider turtles (n = 2 for each species). Undergraduate students are expanding the study to include more variable gene regions and other sites, and using DNA Subway to analyze their sequences. In the future, we will extend student research on urban barcoding and population genetic structure to other species at Freshkills Park and other local sites along an urban-wild gradient.