Abstract
Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding is an increasingly important tool for surveying biodiversity in marine ecosystems. However, the scale of temporal and spatial variability in eDNA signatures, and how this variation may impact eDNA-based marine biodiversity assessments, remains uncertain. To address this question, we systematically examined variation in vertebrate eDNA signatures across depth (0 m to 10 m) and horizontal space (nearshore kelp forest and surf zone) over three successive days in Southern California. Across a broad range of teleost fish and elasmobranchs, results showed significant variation in species richness and community assemblages between surface and depth, reflecting microhabitat depth preferences of common Southern California nearshore rocky reef taxa. Community assemblages between nearshore and surf zone sampling stations at the same depth also differed significantly, consistent with known habitat preferences. Additionally, assemblages also varied across three sampling days, but 69% of habitat preferences remained consistent. Results highlight the sensitivity of eDNA in capturing fine-scale vertical, horizontal, and temporal variation in marine vertebrate communities, demonstrating the ability of eDNA to capture a highly localized snapshot of marine biodiversity in dynamic coastal environments.
Highlights
Environmental DNA, or eDNA, is a metabarcoding approach for detecting and cataloging local community biodiversity, and is increasingly used in marine habitats [1,2]. eDNA approaches rely on the capture of freely dissociated cells/DNA originating from organisms in the environment, which can be isolated and sequenced to reconstruct the community of organisms present [1,3]
Previous applications of eDNA metabarcoding in marine ecosystems demonstrate its effectiveness for measuring biodiversity and capturing important ecological information about taxa ranging from microbes to mammals [1,2], making it useful for ecosystem monitoring
Four of the five taxa in the nearshore vs. surf zone gradient forest model that were most abundant in the surf zone station (California kingcroaker Menticirrhus undulatus, surfperches of Family Embiotocidae, Yellowfin drum Umbrina roncador, and Queen croaker Seriphus politus) are all associated with surf zone habitats, providing further evidence that eDNA accurately recovers distinct communities across adjacent habitat types (S4 Table) [48,57]. These results indicate that eDNA can capture variation in nearshore marine ecosystems, both vertically and across habitats, highlighting that eDNA is a localized snapshot of marine diversity
Summary
Environmental DNA, or eDNA, is a metabarcoding approach for detecting and cataloging local community biodiversity, and is increasingly used in marine habitats [1,2]. eDNA approaches rely on the capture of freely dissociated cells/DNA originating from organisms in the environment, which can be isolated and sequenced to reconstruct the community of organisms present [1,3]. Environmental DNA, or eDNA, is a metabarcoding approach for detecting and cataloging local community biodiversity, and is increasingly used in marine habitats [1,2]. EDNA approaches rely on the capture of freely dissociated cells/DNA originating from organisms in the environment, which can be isolated and sequenced to reconstruct the community of organisms present [1,3]. Previous applications of eDNA metabarcoding in marine ecosystems demonstrate its effectiveness for measuring biodiversity and capturing important ecological information about taxa ranging from microbes to mammals [1,2], making it useful for ecosystem monitoring. The rapid rise of eDNA metabarcoding in marine ecosystems is driven by several key advantages of this technique.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
