Managing natural resources in a sustainable manner requires understanding the complexity of ecosystems and the species that are associated with the different parts of the ecosystem. Much of this knowledge is derived from traditional sampling methods (e.g., different types of trawls). The analysis of environmental DNA (eDNA) can provide increased knowledge, complementary to the traditional methods. In the present pilot study, we sampled eDNA from two geographical areas, north and west of Svalbard (NWS) and in the southwestern Barents Sea (SWBS). The combination of trawling, visual identification of mammals and eDNA collection facilitated a robust analysis of fish and marine mammal diversity and species composition. Through 12S MiFish metabarcoding of the eDNA samples, we found that incorporating eDNA data provided an additional level of information on both the diversity of fish and marine mammals in the study areas. By adding eDNA data to the trawl data, we found that richness increased from 32 to 49 fish taxa. Significant differences in diversity and composition of the fish communities were detected by eDNA between the two study areas. Considering degradation and dilution factors it is postulated that the results represent resident species to the Barents Sea and that long -transported DNA from other areas are less likely.

中文翻译：

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走向以 eDNA 为基础的生物多样性研究——水源性分子类群与传统调查方法的比较

以可持续的方式管理自然资源需要了解生态系统的复杂性以及与生态系统不同部分相关的物种。这些知识大部分来自传统的采样方法（例如，不同类型的拖网）。环境 DNA (eDNA) 分析可以提供更多知识，作为对传统方法的补充。在目前的试点研究中，我们从斯瓦尔巴群岛北部和西部 (NWS) 以及巴伦支海西南部 (SWBS) 这两个地理区域采集了 eDNA 样本。拖网捕捞、哺乳动物视觉识别和 eDNA 收集的结合促进了对鱼类和海洋哺乳动物多样性和物种组成的稳健分析。通过对 eDNA 样本进行 12S MiFish 元条形码，我们发现合并 eDNA 数据可以提供有关研究区域鱼类和海洋哺乳动物多样性的额外信息。通过将 eDNA 数据添加到拖网数据中，我们发现鱼类类群的丰富度从 32 个增加到 49 个。eDNA 检测到两个研究区域之间鱼类群落多样性和组成存在显着差异。考虑到退化和稀释因素，推测结果代表了巴伦支海的常驻物种，而来自其他地区长期迁移的 DNA 的可能性较小。