Calibrating Environmental DNA Metabarcoding to Conventional Surveys for Measuring Fish Species Richness
Year: 2020
Type: article
Abstract: The ability to properly identify species present in a landscape is foundational to ecology and essential for natural resource management and conservation. However, many species are often unaccounted for due to ineffective direct capture and visual surveys, especially in aquatic environments. Environmental DNA metabarcoding is an approach that overcomes low detection probabilities and should consequently enhance estimates of biodiversity and its proxy, species richness. Here, we synthesize 37 studies in natural aquatic systems to compare species richness estimates for bony fish between eDNA metabarcoding and conventional methods, such as nets, visual census, and electrofishing. In freshwater systems with fewer than 100 species, we found eDNA metabarcoding detected more species than conventional methods. Using multiple genetic markers further increased species richness estimates with eDNA metabarcoding. For more diverse freshwater systems and across marine systems, eDNA metabarcoding reported similar values of species richness to conventional methods; however, more studies are needed in these environments to better evaluate relative performance. In systems with greater biodiversity, eDNA metabarcoding will require more populated reference databases, increased sampling effort, and multi-marker assays to ensure robust species richness estimates to further validate the approach. eDNA metabarcoding is reliable and provides a path for broader biodiversity assessments that can outperform conventional methods for estimating species richness.
Authors: Mary E. McElroy, Terra L. Dressler, Georgia C. Titcomb, Emily A. Wilson, Kristy Deiner, Tom L. Dudley, Erika J. Eliason, Nathan T. Evans, Steven D. Gaines, Kevin D. Lafferty, Gary A. Lamberti, Yiyuan Li, David M. Lodge, Milton S. Love, Andrew R. Mahon, Michael E. Pfrender, Mark A. Renshaw, Kimberly A. Selkoe, Christopher L. Jerde
Institutions: University of California, Santa Barbara, Bakersfield College, ETH Zurich, Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, United States Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, University of Notre Dame, The University of Texas at Austin, Cornell University, Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability, Central Michigan University, Hawaii Pacific University, National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis
Language: English
Subfield: Ecology
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Life below water
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,490
Funders: National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Defense, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, United States Agency for International Development, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, European Commission, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Geological Survey, University of California, Davis, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program
OpenAlex ID: W3081642995