Environmental DNA as a complementary tool for biodiversity monitoring: A multi-technique and multi-trophic approach to investigate cetacean distribution and feeding ecology.

ABSTRACT: The use of environmental DNA (eDNA) to assess the presence of biological communities has emerged as a promising monitoring tool in the marine conservation landscape. Moreover, advances in Next-Generation Sequencing techniques, such as DNA metabarcoding, enable multi-species detection in mixed samples, allowing the study of complex ecosystems such as oceanic ones. We aimed at using these molecular-based techniques to characterize cetacean communities, as well as potential prey on the northern coast of Mainland Portugal. During four seasonal campaigns (summer 2021 to winter 2022/2023), seawater samples were collected along with visual records of cetacean occurrence. The eDNA isolated from 64 environmental samples was sequenced in an Illumina platform, with universal primers targeting marine

SUBMITTER: Afonso L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11482729 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature