Journal article
Using hierarchical models to compare the sensitivity of metabarcoding and qPCR for eDNA detection
EF McColl-Gausden, AR Weeks, R Coleman, S Song, R Tingley
Ecological Informatics | Published : 2023
Abstract
Environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling—the detection of intra- or extra-cellular DNA in environmental samples—is a rapid and sensitive survey method for detecting aquatic species. Single-species detection methods (typically based on PCR or LAMP) have been shown to be more sensitive for detecting target species than multi-species detection methods, such as metabarcoding. However, previous studies have generally only compared these two eDNA detection approaches for a single target species and have used different methodological and statistical approaches. Here we present a comparison of single- and multi-species eDNA detection methods, drawing on two published case studies (one fish, one amphibian) ..
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Awarded by Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment
Funding Acknowledgements
We thank San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance (SE Australia dataset) and Melbourne Water (Melbourne dataset) for funding the eDNA sampling and analyses used by this study. We thank Josh Griffiths for eDNA sampling assistance as well as the volunteers who conducted eDNA sampling (SE Australia dataset) . Fieldwork for SE Australia dataset was conducted under research permits for New South Wales (NSW Scientific license #SL102217 and Forestry corporation #RES100002) and Victoria (Parks Permit #10009047) . EM was supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship, the Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment and David Lachlan Hay Memorial Fund.