Environmental DNA as a valuable and unique source of information about ecological networks in Arctic terrestrial ecosystems

Abstract

Arctic terrestrial ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to the effects of ongoing and predicted climate changes. The current states of environmental biodiversity and ecological networks in the Arctic need to be known and understood to monitor how they change and how these changes may influence the particular components of the ecosystem. Despite the fact that the Arctic tundra is generally poor in nutrients, it has a surprisingly high biodiversity, especially of invertebrates and microorganisms. Besides macroclimatic features, there may be local factors influencing biodiversity, such as microclimate, water availability, or large seabird colonies depositing guano. This last can have a substantial impact on the soil’s physicochemical features, and consequently the distribution, number, and diversity of tundra-associated plants and animals in the vicinity of the colony. Changes in the Arctic biodiversity and the functioning of the ecosystem at all trophic levels are difficult to investigate using traditional methods. In this review, we discuss how modern molecular techniques, including next generation sequencing, influence our ability to investigate and understand this ecosystem at both the micro- and the macroscale and how they can complement the more traditional approaches to studying ecological networks in the Arctic.