Environmental DNA (eDNA) reveals potential for interoceanic fish invasions across the Panama Canal.

ABSTRACT: Interoceanic canals can facilitate biological invasions as they connect the world's oceans and remove dispersal barriers between bioregions. As a consequence, multiple opportunities for biotic exchange arise and the resulting establishment of migrant species often causes adverse ecological and economic impacts. The Panama Canal is a key region for biotic exchange as it connects the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans in Central America. In this study, we used two complementary methods (environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding and gillnetting) to survey fish communities in this unique waterway. Using COI (cytochrome oxidase subunit I) metabarcoding, we detected a total of 142 fish species, including evidence for the presence of sixteen Atlantic and eight Pacific marine fish in different freshwater se

SUBMITTER: Schreiber L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9884569 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature