The Round Goby Neogobius melanostomus has spread rapidly around the Great Lakes region since its introduction to North America in 1990. In 2014, a specimen was captured in the New York State Canal System west of Utica, prompting concerns that Round Goby would soon reach the ecologically and economically valuable watersheds of Lake Champlain and the Hudson River estuary. The establishment of Round Goby populations elsewhere has been linked to a number of negative ecological consequences, yet methods for monitoring the invasion front of this species remain limited. The objectives of this study were to assess the current distribution of Round Goby in central New York and to determine the most effective methods for monitoring the invasion front. This was achieved by concurrently using benthic trawling, seining, minnow traps, and environmental DNA (eDNA) twice annually from 2016 to 2019 at 12 sites on the canal system between Oneida Lake and the Hudson River. Of the three traditional gear types, benthic trawling was the most effective method and captured Round Goby as far east as Utica by 2019. This finding suggests only minimal eastward expansion of Round Goby occurred between 2014 and 2019. Round Goby DNA was detected in water samples during all surveys in which individuals were captured with trawling, and the estimated concentration of DNA explained 69% of the variability in trawl catch. At multiple study sites, Round Goby DNA was identified during consecutive surveys before Round Goby were first captured with trawling. This suggests that in lotic waters, eDNA has the potential to forecast or serve as a sentinel for the expansion of Round Goby to new locations. Our results demonstrate the importance of using eDNA in a repeated sampling framework and supplementing eDNA sampling with some level of effort with traditional sampling methods.

中文翻译：

---

纽约Round Goby的东扩：检测方法和当前范围的评估

圆虾虎鱼自1990年引入北美以来，它已在大湖地区迅速蔓延。2014年，在尤蒂卡以西的纽约州运河系统中捕获了一个标本，这引发了人们对Round Goby不久将到达该州具有生态和经济价值的分水岭的担忧。尚普兰湖和哈德逊河河口。在其他地方建立圆角比目鱼种群与许多负面生态后果有关，但监测该物种入侵前沿的方法仍然有限。这项研究的目的是评估在纽约中部的Round Goby的当前分布，并确定监视入侵前沿的最有效方法。这是通过同时使用底网拖网捕捞，围网捕捞，min鱼捕捞，从2016年至2019年，每年两次在奥尼达湖和哈德逊河之间的运河系统上的12个站点进行检测。在三种传统渔具中，底栖拖网捕鱼是最有效的方法，并在2019年之前将Round Goby捕获到远东至Utica。这一发现表明，2014年至2019年之间Round Goby仅向东扩展很小。在水样中检测到Round Goby DNA在所有通过拖网捕获个人的调查中，估计的DNA浓度解释了拖网渔获量变化的69％。在多个研究地点，在通过拖网首次捕获Round Goby之前，在连续调查中发现了Round Goby DNA。这表明，在抽水的水中，eDNA有潜力预测或充当Round Goby扩展到新地点的哨兵。