Environmental DNA survey captures patterns of fish and invertebrate diversity across a tropical seascape.

ABSTRACT: Accurate, rapid, and comprehensive biodiversity assessments are critical for investigating ecological processes and supporting conservation efforts. Environmental DNA (eDNA) surveys show promise as a way to effectively characterize fine-scale patterns of community composition. We tested whether a single PCR survey of eDNA in seawater using a broad metazoan primer could identify differences in community composition between five adjacent habitats at 19 sites across a tropical Caribbean bay in Panama. We paired this effort with visual fish surveys to compare methods for a conspicuous taxonomic group. eDNA revealed a tremendous diversity of animals (8,586 operational taxonomic units), including many small taxa that would be undetected in traditional in situ surveys. Fish comprised only 0.07% o

SUBMITTER: Nguyen BN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7174284 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature