NCM 2022: Population monitoring with in situ conservation genetics in the Peruvian Amazon

The Peruvian rainforest is one of the world's most significant biodiversity hotspots, but its remoteness hinders access to modern technologies for biodiversity studies. The Wildlife Conservation Laboratory, operated by Conservación Amazonica and Field Projects International, is an in situ molecular laboratory in the Madre de Dios region of Peru. Here, Peruvian scientists receive training and apply it to DNA barcoding, mitogenomics, pathogen surveillance, and metabarcoding studies. To tackle the challenge of population monitoring for species of interest, we developed and validated a highly informative set of SNPs for two sympatric primate species using nanopore technology. We genotyped 60 animals across both species, verifying sex, individual, and species identities without samples ever leaving the forest in which they were collected. This sets the stage for low-cost population monitoring for a multitude of endangered and managed species in the region and forms a critical improvement to the conservation toolbox available to scientists.