Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Ahead of Print.
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) have been adopted globally as a tool to combat biodiversity loss and restore marine ecosystems. Successful application of MPAs will be predicated on the ability to monitor biodiversity in a synoptic and noninvasive manner. Environmental DNA (eDNA) methods have important advantages over traditional biodiversity survey methods for monitoring conservation areas. To evaluate the efficacy of eDNA metabarcoding for fish biodiversity monitoring, we sampled 19 coastal eelgrass (Zostera marina) beds in Canada, as eelgrass beds are known for high biodiversity and significant conservation value. At each site, beach seines were used to survey fish and water samples were collected contemporaneously for eDNA metabarcoding. In total, beach seining caught 32 672 individuals across 59 fish taxa, and eDNA detected 129 fish taxa. eDNA captured site-level variation and detected higher species richness at both site and regional levels compared to seining. eDNA abundance had a positive association with capture abundance. Collectively these results highlight how eDNA metabarcoding offers an efficient approach for monitoring fish biodiversity in coastal eelgrass beds, thus providing a valuable and noninvasive tool for MPA planning and coastal monitoring.

中文翻译：

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使用 eDNA 元条形码和围网对鳗草床进行鱼类群落调查：对沿海地区生物多样性监测的意义

加拿大渔业和水生科学杂志，印刷前。
海洋保护区 (MPA) 已在全球范围内被用作对抗生物多样性丧失和恢复海洋生态系统的工具。海洋保护区的成功应用将取决于以天气和非侵入性方式监测生物多样性的能力。与传统的生物多样性调查方法相比，环境 DNA (eDNA) 方法在监测保护区方面具有重要优势。为了评估 eDNA 元条形码对鱼类生物多样性监测的功效，我们对加拿大的 19 个沿海鳗草 (Zostera marina) 床进行了采样，因为鳗草床以高生物多样性和重要的保护价值而闻名。在每个地点，使用海滩围网来调查鱼类，并同时收集水样进行 eDNA 元条形码编码。总的来说，海滩围网在 59 个鱼类分类群中捕获了 32672 个人，并且 eDNA 检测到 129 个鱼类分类群。与围网相比，eDNA 捕获了站点级别的变化，并在站点和区域级别检测到更高的物种丰富度。eDNA 丰度与捕获丰度呈正相关。总的来说，这些结果突出了 eDNA 元条形码如何为监测沿海鳗草床中的鱼类生物多样性提供了一种有效的方法，从而为 MPA 规划和沿海监测提供了一种有价值的非侵入性工具。