Simultaneously monitoring aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity using
riverine water eDNA: seasonal variation of monitoring effectiveness
Abstract
Both aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity information can be detected in
riverine water environmental DNA (eDNA). However, the monitoring
effectiveness (i.e., the proportion of aquatic and terrestrial
biodiversity information detected in riverine water eDNA samples) is
unknown. To investigate the monitoring effectiveness, we introduced the
concept of watershed biological information flow (WBIF) and proposed
that the monitoring effectiveness depended on the transportation
effectiveness of the WBIF. Then, the monitoring effectiveness could be
assessed in the WBIF framework. Here, we conducted a monitoring
effectiveness assessment case study in a watershed on the Qinghai-Tibet
Plateau according to analysis of the bacterial operational taxonomic
unit (OTU) assemblages detected in riverine water eDNA samples and
riparian soil eDNA samples during three seasons. The results showed that
(1) the downstream-to-upstream monitoring effectiveness: only 76% of
the bacterial OTUs could be detected 1 km downstream in spring and more
than 97% and 96% could be detected in summer and autumn, respectively.
(2) The river-to-land monitoring effectiveness: more than 62% of the
bacterial OTUs in riparian soil eDNA samples could be detected in
adjacent riverine water eDNA samples on rainy summer days and 16% and
48% could be detected on cloudy spring and autumn days, respectively.
These results suggested that riverine water eDNA was viable for
simultaneously monitoring aquatic and terrestrial bacterial biodiversity
and that rainy days in summer or autumn were suitable sampling times on
the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. More studies on monitoring effectiveness in
other taxonomies and in other watersheds with different climatic
conditions are needed.