AZTI Marine Biotic Index Research Articles

Assessment of benthic ecological status in semi-enclosed Daya Bay (China) in regions exposed to human disturbances based on multiple biotic indices

Daya Bay has been greatly influenced by a variety of human disturbances over the last three decades. Because no extremely useful single biotic index for the assessment of ecological status exists, several biotic indices (the AZTI’s marine biotic index (AMBI), the multivariate AZTI’s marine biotic index (M-AMBI), and the taxonomic diversity (TD) index) were applied to more accurately evaluate the current benthic ecological status of the bay. The results showed that the inner-bay was the most polluted region due to the presence of excess nutrients and pollution associated with anthropogenic activities, while other stations appeared to be in better ecological condition. Temporally, the lower dissolved oxygen concentration in the bottom water might be the main factor leading to worse pollution in autumn. The performance of M-AMBI was better than that of the AMBI and TD indices, and the AMBI and TD indices complemented the M-AMBI in some respects. The results of this study support the use of the AMBI, M-AMBI and TD indices and indicate that these indices may be suitable for assessing the benthic ecological status of semi-enclosed bays under conditions of human disturbance.

Development of a benthic foraminifera based marine biotic index (Foram-AMBI) for the Gulf of Mexico: A decision support tool

The Gulf of Mexico (GoM) is an economically important region (e.g. oil and gas, fisheries) and with the expansion of oil drilling, harmful algal bloom events, oil blowouts, dead zones, anthropogenic eutrophication and contaminant loading, it is important that the ecological quality statuses (EcoQS) of different localities in the Gulf are closely monitored. The EcoQS, as implemented by the European Water Framework Directive, is an effective tool for monitoring ecological health and developing reference conditions. One such index used to define EcoQS is the AZTI Marine Biotic Index (AMBI), which pairs species abundance with environmental stressors. Benthic foraminifera are ideal specimens to populate the index due to their varying environmental sensitivities among species, preservation potential, and high diversity and abundance in nearly every marine environment. To calculate the benthic foraminiferal AMBI (Foram-AMBI), species are assigned to one of five groups ranging from sensitive (I) to first-order opportunists (V) based on their correlation to total organic matter and sediment grain size. This study constructs a Foram-AMBI from benthic foraminifera assemblages collected at 59 sites throughout the GoM. This approach provides reference EcoQS for the GoM and will satisfy the need for widespread geospatial coverage in the case of future natural or anthropogenic disturbances. This study provides a master assignment list of 155 species and identification plates of 44 of those species from a depth range of 42 m-2975 m. The development of a GoM Foram-AMBI encourages collaborative partnerships between academic scientists and living resource managers throughout the GoM to operationalize, refine and implement the Foram-AMBI as a decision support tool.

Assessment of benthic macroinvertebrate response to anthropogenic and natural disturbances in the Kodungallur-Azhikode estuary, southwest coast of India.

Benthic biotic indices are important ecological tools extensively used to understand the ecological quality of coastal wetlands. The present study aimed to assess the ecological status of Kodungallur-Azhikode estuary for the first time by using widely used benthic indices such as species richness (S), Shannon diversity index (H'log2), BENTIX, benthic opportunistic polychaetes amphipods (BOPA), AZTI's Marine Biotic Index (AMBI) and multivariate AMBI (M-AMBI). In the canonical correspondence analysis, salinity, dissolved oxygen, organic matter, sediment Eh, sediment pH and sand were identified as important variance descriptors. A single species of an opportunist, Americorophium triaeonyx, an amphipod belonging to the ecological group (EG) III, significantly contributed to the total macrofaunal density. Other dominant opportunistic species included Obelia bidentata (EGII), Arcuatula senhousia (EGIII), Cirolana fluviatilis (EGII), Prionospio cirrifera (EGIV) and Capitella sp. (EGV). The overall assessment indicated a 'good to moderate' condition in AMBI, 'good to poor' condition in M-AMBI, 'high to moderate' condition in BENTIX, 'high to poor' condition in BOPA and 'moderate to poor' condition in univariate Shannon diversity index. All the multivariate indices tested in the study were correlated with each other except BOPA and M-AMBI. The group of stations dominated with a sandy substrate and a moderate level of organic content indicated high to good conditions while other stations demonstrated moderate to poor conditions. However, no significant variation in indices tested between seasons was observed. The present study recommends long-term monitoring of benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages with proper taxonomic identification and functional trait analysis for better calibration of indices, which is the key factor for getting better results.

Can the ecological status of three differentially impacted monsoonal tropical estuaries in NW India, be adequately assessed by a common estuarine benthic index?

Effective management measures for improving rapidly deteriorating estuaries around the world are hugely dependent on accurate evaluation of the ecological status, which is a challenge in itself considering the Estuarine Quality Paradox. Several Benthic Biotic Indices (BBIs) have been tested in estuaries in different bio-geographical zones with no concurrence whatsoever about the best approach in evaluating the ecological status. An often suggested approach is to apply several indices concurrently to gauge the overall status. However, this method typically results in more complexities due to the multiple contradicting conclusions derived by different indices besides increasing the computational load and the requirement of data matrices. Therefore, it would be reasonable to validate available BBIs in various estuaries of a biogeographical zone and select a common estuarine benthic index that can respond effectively to diverse stressors, considering the natural estuarine gradients. Towards this goal, five most frequently employed BBIs viz. AZTI’s Marine Biotic Index (AMBI), Multivariate AZTI’s Marine Biotic Index (M-AMBI), BENTIX, Benthic Opportunistic Polychaete Amphipoda index (BOPA) and Benthic Opportunistic Oligochaete Amphipoda index (BO2A) were applied in the three differently stressed estuaries (Ulhas, Amba and Savitri) of NW India during the three major seasons (premonsoon, monsoon and postmonsoon). It was aimed to test if any of the applied BBIs could appropriately determine the ecological status across salinity zones of all the estuaries and thus can act as a common estuarine index. While the indices generally concurred in high salinity zones of the heavily polluted Ulhas, discrepancies in ecological status were observed in other zones and estuaries, mostly erroneous when compared to the pre-determined status. As monsoonal index values appeared to have been influenced by the disturbance due to fresh water inflow during this season, the average of the two non-monsoonal seasons was considered for deriving the final status by all indices. Among the BBIs, AMBI exhibited stronger response to pressure gradients and was most successful in discriminating the correct ecological status of most of the salinity zones across the three estuaries. Thus, this index could reasonably be considered for ecological status evaluation of estuaries of NW India irrespective of the diverse anthropogenic stressors and macrobenthic composition. It is recommended that this conclusion be reaffirmed by repeating similar investigations in other monsoonal tropical estuaries of this zone.

Assessment of the benthic ecological status in adjacent areas of the Yangtze River Estuary, China, using AMBI, M-AMBI and BOPA biotic indices

The main environmental variables of bottom seawater and macrobenthic invertebrates were investigated from February 2015 to January 2016 to evaluate the benthic ecological status in adjacent areas of the Yangtze River Estuary, China. Diverse ecological assessment results were given by the AZTI Marine Biotic Index (AMBI), multivariate-AMBI (M-AMBI) and benthic opportunistic polychaetes amphipods (BOPA) index, showing that the M-AMBI was the most suitable in the study area. A clear spatial distribution pattern related to the distance from the estuary and the coasts was found both for the benthic ecological status and the eutrophication-related bottom seawater environmental variables, indicating that the study area was under eutrophication pressure. Two major disturbed regions (one was east of the Yangtze River Estuary, and the other was east of Zhejiang Province) were discovered, which was probably mainly caused by the Changjiang Diluted Water (CDW). No significant seasonal changes were found in the ecological status.

Assessing benthic habitat quality using biotic indices in the Laizhou Bay, China

As an important part of the Bohai economic rim, the Laizhou Bay has been stressed by serious eco-environmental problems in recent years. In this study, the Shannon-Wiener index (H'), AZTI’s marine biotic index (AMBI) and the multivariate AMBI (M-AMBI) were used to assess the ecological quality status (EQS) of the Laizhou Bay according to macrobenthos data collected annually in August 2011-2014. The results showed that the overall benthic habitat quality in the Laizhou Bay was assessed as “Good”. However, 25% of the samples were classified as “Moderate”, “Bad” or “Poor” status under degraded conditions. Ecological group III (EGIII) species which had a certain tolerance to environmental disturbances had a higher proportion in each station, and most of them had appeared the pollution indicator species Capitella capitata. This indicated that the benthic habitat in the Laizhou Bay had been disturbed and polluted to some extent. The comparison of the three indices evaluation result and the RDA analysis showed that the H' and M-AMBI were more suitable when the relative abundance of the single species was high and the macrobenthic community was significantly imbalanced; when the relative abundance of opportunistic species (EGIV and EGV) was high, the AMBI and M-AMBI could reflected the EQS objectively; in an undisturbed and polluted environment, all the three indices could indicate the benthic habitats quality. In summary, the better correlation between the three indices and environmental factors showed that they were well responsive to the tendency of the benthic habitats quality in the Laizhou Bay.

Is the benthic index AMBI impervious to seasonality and data transformations while evaluating the ecological status of an anthropized monsoonal estuary?

Benthic indices are a potential measure of a system's ecological quality status. It is vital for an efficient index to distinguish the anthropogenic effects from the natural stress associated with seasonality, especially in complex ecosystems such as the tropical monsoonal estuaries. AZTI's Marine Biotic Index (AMBI), one of the most successful indices, relies on the distribution of soft-bottom macrobenthic communities into five different ecological groups (EGs) according to their sensitivity to stress. The AMBI was employed in the anthropized Ulhas estuary (India) to test its vulnerability to seasonality. Also it was endeavored in this study to test whether data transformations enhanced the efficiency of AMBI. AMBI values obtained during monsoon failed to distinguish between differently impacted stations in the major stretch of the estuary due to the uniformly dominant occurrence of Namalycastis ouanaryensis, an EG IV species with affinity for low salinity. The AMBI successfully evaluated the status of the estuary during the non-monsoonal seasons whereas it failed to perform well during the monsoon as it either underestimated or overestimated the ecological quality status of >55% of the stations. The results obtained by averaging the AMBI scores of the non-monsoonal seasons gave an accurate ecological status of the estuary. A good level of agreement between all the applied transformations implied that the data transformations did not improve the AMBI efficiency. Conversely, AMBI based on untransformed data indicated a stronger correlation with the contamination proxies than those derived from various data transformations.

Spatio-temporal variation of subtidal macrobenthic fauna and the ecological assessment of Longkou Artificial Island construction in Bohai Sea, China

To evaluate the status and changes of macrobenthic communities related to the construction of the Longkou Artificial Island (LAI) in the Bohai Sea, China, four annual surveys were conducted from 2010 to 2013. Significant changes on environmental variations and macrobenthic communities were observed in 2013 after the LAI construction a couple of years later. The changing environment was primarily presented by lower values of pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), organic material (OM) percentage, and higher salinity, suspended particulate matter (SPM) concentration and oil concentration. The main dominant species shifted from Polychaeta taxa in 2010 to Mollusca taxa in 2013 due to the changes of environmental variables. An apparent miniaturization tendency in body size of macrobenthic species was presented from 2010 to 2013. The biodiversity indices increased yearly from 2010 to 2013. However, inter-site homogenization was observed in both the community structure and health status. Multivariate AZTI Marine Biotic Index (M-AMBI) analysis showed that the health status of stations changed depending on its original status and distance to the LAI. However, no significant differences were found in the spatial distribution of either environmental variables or abundance, biomass and biodiversity of macrobenthic communities. All the results will provide a basis for the long-term ecological assessment of reclamation.

Setting reference conditions to assess the ecological status of the sublittoral and bathyal benthic communities of the southern Gulf of Mexico

Abstract The southern Gulf of Mexico (sGM) requires tools to accurately assess the quality of the heterogeneous seafloor in the sublittoral and deep benthic zones. In this context, multivariate AZTI's Marine Biotic Index (M-AMBI) is a suitable assessment method to evaluate the impact produced by human pressures. Here we argue that setting reference conditions enhance the comprehension of natural variability of key variables, helping us to identify the ecological status of the sGM seafloor. We aim to set reference conditions for M-AMBI and validate the application of AMBI and M-AMBI to assess the ecological status of the sublittoral and deep zones of the sGM. We analyzed environmental, contaminant, and macroinfauna data collected in 595 sampling sites across five annual surveys (rainy and dry seasons), from the sublittoral to the bathyal zones. Nine types of sedimentary environments were obtained based on depth, sediment texture, and organic carbon. Of the 917 taxa collected, 830 (90%) were assigned to one of the five levels of sensitivity (from sensitive to opportunistic species) under local biogeographic conditions; this represents the first list of species recorded from coastal (2 m depth) to deep environments (3571 m depth) in the sGM. According to reference conditions and types of sedimentary environments, we observed a monotonous decreasing sequence of species richness and species diversity (i.g. carbonated > terrigenous > transitional > deep environments). Overall, the ecological status ranged from acceptable (e.g. carbonated and terrigenous environments > 67%) to non-acceptable quality (e.g. transitional and deep environments > 50%). Our validation of AMBI and M-AMBI, using 95% confidence intervals, permitted to obtain significant relationships (r2 > 0.36; P

Study of the benthic macrofauna and application of AMBI index in the coastal waters of Algeria

The aim of this of study was to examine the state of the benthic macrofauna community at six different sites in coastal waters of Algeria. The diversity of benthic macrofauna was studied and the AZTI marine biotic index (AMBI) was applied. Sampling was carried out during March and April 2018. Thus, 31 species were recorded. Higher species richness (13 species) was recorded in two sites. The highest density was estimated at 56.6 in / 0.1 m². Taxonomic analysis has shown the prevalence of Gastopoda, Bivalvia and Scaphopoda. Sediment analysis showed a low concentration of organic matter in the six sites. The AMBI index used in this study has been used extensively in Europe as indicador of marine pollution, but rarely used in Algeria. The AMBI values ​​were quite homogeneous over all the sites, and generally correspond to undisturbed states except for one site, which is slightly disturbed.

Assessing the ecological health of the Chongming Dongtan Nature Reserve, China, using different benthic biotic indices

To assess the ecological health of the Chongming Dongtan Nature Reserve (CDNR), univariate and multimetric indices—AZTI's Marine Biotic Index (AMBI), multivariate AMBI (M-AMBI), abundance-biomass comparison curves, taxonomic diversity, Shannon-Wiener index (H′) (log2), and Benthic Opportunistic Polychaetes Amphipods index (BOPA) — were used to translate the macrobenthic community into classifications of ecological health in 2016 and 2017. Based on the results of the various indicators, the overall habitat status of the CDNR ranged from good to high status. Sites 4 and 5, which fell in the remaining tidal flats following reclamation activities, were classified as disturbed, whereas the degree of disturbance at site 3 was low. The results indicate that the CDNR is under some form of human disturbance, which includes reclamation and animal (mainly cattle) grazing. H′ (log2) and M-AMBI index may be more suitable for assessing ecological quality in intertidal zones, including the CDNR.

Benthic quality assessment using M-AMBI in the Seto Inland Sea, Japan

Benthic invertebrates that inhabit the seafloor respond to anthropogenic and natural stresses, and are good indicators for assessing the benthic ecological status. We evaluated the ecosystem health of the Seto Inland Sea based on the multivariate AZTI Marine Biotic Index (M-AMBI), being its first application in a Japanese coastal sea with numerous endemic species. From the 415 locations studied, we were able to use M-AMBI in 384 sites (92.5% in all sites). The result revealed a statistically significant correlation among biotic indices including AMBI, M-AMBI, Richness, and H’ (p < 0.01). Most of the physico-chemical parameters of the sediment (water content, total organic carbon (TOC) content, sulfide content, mud content, and oxidation–reduction potential (ORP)) were significantly correlated with each other excluding sediment temperature. The M-AMBI was significantly correlated with physico-chemical variables including water content, TOC content, sulfide content, and ORP. We found that the sites classified into the organically enriched cluster, and having high contents of TOC, mud, and sulfide and negative ORP, corresponded with sites that had significantly low M-AMBI values (bad-poor ecological status). Conversely, sites in the unpolluted sandy cluster were assigned high M-AMBI values (high-good ecological status). Therefore, M-AMBI would be a useful biotic index in Japanese coasts due to the representation of the comprehensive sediment quality.

An ecological status indicator for all time: Are AMBI and M-AMBI effective indicators of change in deep time?

Increasingly environmental management seeks to limit the impacts of human activities on ecosystems relative to some ‘reference’ condition, which is often the presumed pre-impacted state, however such information is limited. We explore how marine ecosystems in deep time (Late Jurassic) are characterised by AZTI's Marine Biotic Index (AMBI), and how the indices responded to natural perturbations. AMBI is widely used to detect the impacts of human disturbance and to establish management targets, and this study is the first application of these indices to a fossil fauna. Our results show AMBI detected changes in past seafloor communities (well-preserved fossil deposits) that underwent regional deoxygenation in a manner analogous to those experiencing two decades of organic pollution. These findings highlight the potential for palaeoecological data to contribute to reconstructions of pre-human marine ecosystems, and hence provide information to policy makers and regulators with greater temporal context on the nature of ‘pristine’ marine ecosystems.

Forever young: The successful story of a marine biotic index.

In 2000, the AZTI's Marine Biotic Index (AMBI) was published and was one of a number of marine benthic indices development to assess the ecological status of soft-bottom macroinvertebrates. This index, and its derivatives, has been very successful in its application to different geographical areas, across the world, as well as to different environments, from the intertidal to the abyssal, or from tidal freshwater to offshore habitats. In this review, we explain the story behind the AMBI development, and look for an explanation of the index's success. For doing that, we comment on the current practicalities of the index, we present the new AMBI species list, with 9251 taxa, we dismantle six myths around this index, and examine the past and the future of the index. We show that the solid ecological roots of the index make it a robust tool to assess the status of marine benthic communities, at any time and environment. Hence, we think that it will be 'forever young' helping managers in taking informed decisions to improve benthic marine systems.

Long-term Assessment of the Environmental Conditions of Lake Nakaumi (Japan) Using Multivariate AZTI Marine Biotic Index (M-AMBI)

Long-term Assessment of the Environmental Conditions of Lake Nakaumi (Japan) Using Multivariate AZTI Marine Biotic Index (M-AMBI)

Assessing functional diversity of macrobenthic assemblages in sewage-affected intertidal shores

Functional diversity is the component of diversity that influences ecosystem dynamics, stability, productivity, nutrient balance, and other aspects of ecosystem functioning. We evaluate the spatio-temporal variability of the functional traits (biological traits analysis), functional diversity indices (functional richness, functional evenness, functional divergence and functional dispersion) and AZTI marine biotic index in response to the distinct levels of sewage contamination at different sites on intertidal abrasion platforms. Variations in macrobenthic functional structure between reference and impacted sites were evident in the study area. The functional richness showed a pattern with higher values in the reference sites; Functional evenness showed a similar pattern, but only during spring. Functional divergence presented lower values in the impacted sites during autumn and spring. The functional diversity indices (functional richness and functional evenness) and the AZTI marine biotic index presented a negative relationship, indicating that functional diversity is related to benthic environmental health. Thus, biological traits analysis and functional diversity indices, especially FRic that reveals differences in macrobenthic functional structure between impacted and reference sites during all seasons, represent an informative and useful tool to describe the different aspects of sewage impacts in benthic assemblages on rocky shores. These analyses have a high potential for future monitoring programmes.

Assessment of the benthic ecological status in the adjacent waters of Yangtze River Estuary using marine biotic indices

The adjacent waters of the Yangtze River Estuary are influenced by heavy anthropogenic activities. The benthic ecological status was assessed using the Shannon–Wiener diversity index, the AZTI Marine Biotic Index (AMBI), and the multivariate AMBI (M-AMBI) based on macrofaunal data collected in this area at 51 sites in June 2013 and June 2014. In total, 321 species of macrofauna were identified. Polychaetes were the most dominant, followed by mollusks and crustaceans. The AMBI results showed that 72.55% of the sites were under slight disturbance with a decreasing disturbance trend from inshore to offshore. M-AMBI showed that most of the sites were under lower disturbance level than those shown by AMBI. The Shannon–Wiener diversity index showed that only two sites, near the Yangtze River Estuary and the Zhoushan Islands, respectively, were under moderate status. Other sites were under good or high status, which is consistent with the M-AMBI results.

A A COMPARISON OF THE APPLICABILITY OF THE SHANNON-WIENER, AMBI AND M-AMBI INDEX FOR ASSESSING ECOLOGICAL QUALITY STATUS OF SEDIMENT IN AN ORGANIC SHRIMP FARMING PONDS, NAM CAN DISTRICT, CA MAU PROVINCE

The Shannon-Wiener Index (H′), AZTI’s Marine Biotic Index (AMBI) and multivariate AMBI (M-AMBI) were applied as a comparative applicability in assessing the ecological quality status of sediment (EcoQ) of eight an organic shrimp farming ponds (OSFP), Ca Mau province. There were obvious differences between the evaluation results of three indices in the eight OSFPs through three seasons. The EcoQ given by the AMBI and M-AMBI were higher than that given by the H’ index. These indicated that H’ index may also be more sensitive to environment disturbances than the AMBI and M-AMBI. Furthermore, the EcoQ given by the M-AMBI was a neutralization between that given by the H’ and AMBI indices. Because there are no environmental variables data available in this study, the H′ index was really more sensitive to environment disturbances than the AMBI and M-AMBI, that have yet to be fully elucidated. A analyses three indices with environmental variables gradient data also need further investigation to potentially increase the precise answer of this issue.

Live-Dead Mismatch of Molluscan Assemblages Indicates Disturbance from Anthropogenic Eutrophication in the Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor Estuary

Previous research combining data on the abundance of benthic invertebrates living in the northernmost section of the Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor estuary with data on water quality suggested a community composition consistent with anthropogenic eutrophication. This part of the estuary, however, experiences both high-nutrient and low-salinity environmental conditions, which are both ecologically stressful to sensitive species and favorable to opportunistic species, complicating assessments of the direct effects of anthropogenic eutrophication. Here, geohistorical baselines were derived from molluscan death assemblages from four localities along a north-south gradient in the bay—two northern low-salinity, high-nutrient sites and two southern high-salinity, low-nutrient sites—to disentangle the effects of salinity and nutrient enrichment on the composition of benthic communities. Disturbance in the northern section of the estuary from freshwater input has been relatively consistent for thousands of years, but nutrient enrichment is a more recent stressor, developing only in the past few decades. The cause of the disturbed benthic community is unlikely to be anthropogenic eutrophication, if there is little discordance between the living and the death assemblage in the northern, low-salinity section of the bay. Comparisons of rank-order abundance (Spearman's rho) and taxonomic similarity (Jaccard-Chao index) of the living and death assemblages along the north-south gradient, however, indicate that compositional shifts occur at the northern sites only. A multivariate index analysis, M-AMBI, which integrates the AZTI Marine Biotic Index, a biotic index based on species sensitivity/tolerance to disturbances, with Shannon diversity and species richness, shows a similar pattern: ecological status shifts (from undisturbed to disturbed) in the northern but not southern sites along the north-south salinity gradient. These independent lines of evidence corroborate the inference that it is most likely anthropogenic eutrophication (and not salinity) disturbance driving observed patterns in benthic community composition. Further sampling and incorporation of geohistorical data into ongoing benthic monitoring in the estuary is recommended to establish ecological baselines where none exist, guide restoration planning, and assess the success of restoration efforts.

Adapting metabarcoding-based benthic biomonitoring into routine marine ecological status assessment networks

The use of genomic approaches to assist with biodiversity estimations is an alternative to traditional biomonitoring, which is very time-consuming and costly. In response to the high demand for quick community descriptions, DNA metabarcoding can simultaneously assign taxonomy to hundreds of samples rapidly and at low cost. However, the technique has not routinely been incorporated into biomonitoring network programs yet. Here, we applied DNA metabarcoding methodologies at stations within the monitoring network of the Basque Water Agency, the competent authority for the application of the European Water Framework Directive in this region. We characterized the benthic macroinvertebrate communities from 18 estuarine and coastal sediment samples using morphology and metabarcoding-based taxonomic identification and evaluated the performance of several versions of the AZTI’s Marine Biotic Index (AMBI). Although metabarcoding detected 112 taxa against the 206 taxa identified through morphology, we showed that metabarcoding leads to similar biomonitoring conclusions compared with traditional techniques. Using the abundance and biomass of those taxa detected from morphological methodologies, we found a significant positive correlation with the number of reads obtained with metabarcoding approaches. The metabarcoding-based index derived from read counts, gAMBI, and the morphology-based index derived from individuals’ biomass, (B)AMBI, showed the best correlation and revealed excellent agreement at determining the ecological status of the stations analyzed. We calculated that, for the analysis of the 51 stations included in the Basque monitoring network, metabarcoding was 55% less costly and 72% less time consuming. The results of our study are relevant to policy makers and researchers in the field of ecological assessment and will contribute to the quick implementation of DNA metabarcoding to intensive monitoring programs.