Discrimination of Spatial Distribution of Aquatic Organisms in a Coastal Ecosystem Using eDNA

Hyunbin Jo,Ihn-Sil Kwak,Dong-Kyun Kim,Kiyun Park

doi:10.3390/app9173450

Abstract

The nonlinearity and complexity of coastal ecosystems often cause difficulties when analyzing spatial and temporal patterns of ecological traits. Environmental DNA (eDNA) monitoring has provided an alternative to overcoming the aforementioned issues associated with classical monitoring. We determined aquatic community taxonomic composition using eDNA based on a meta-barcoding approach that characterizes the general ecological features in the Gwangyang Bay coastal ecosystem. We selected the V9 region of the 18S rDNA gene (18S V9), primarily because of its broad range among eukaryotes. Our results produced more detailed spatial patterns in the study area previously categorized (inner bay, main channel of the bay and outer bay) by Kim et al. (2019). Specifically, the outer bay zone was clearly identified by CCA using genus-level identification of aquatic organisms based on meta-barcoding data. We also found significant relationships between environmental factors. Therefore, eDNA monitoring based on meta-barcoding approach holds great potential as a complemental monitoring tool to identify spatial taxonomic distribution patterns in coastal areas.

Highlights

Biological monitoring contributes to the understanding of complex ecosystem structures and functions in targeted systems [1]
EDNA monitoring based on meta-barcoding approach holds great potential as a complemental monitoring tool to identify spatial taxonomic distribution patterns in coastal areas
Our results showed that Environmental DNA (eDNA) monitoring based on Next-generation sequencing (NGS) holds great potential as a complementary monitoring tool to identify spatial taxonomic distribution patterns in coastal areas

Summary

Introduction

Biological monitoring contributes to the understanding of complex ecosystem structures and functions in targeted systems [1]. It is crucial in detecting and assessing environmental changes in order to ensure proper management and conservation of complex ecosystems [2]. Coastal environments are among the most complex ecosystems due to tidal activity, and typically retain high economic and environmental values in light of aquatic resources and biodiversity [3]. A large number of papers have reported the use of eDNA monitoring in analyses of soil, water and even air [15]. Andersen et al [16] examined the possibility of monitoring large mammals using eDNA in soil samples, and eDNA from water monitoring of fish [17,18,19,20] and amphibians [21,22] has been successful

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