Environmental DNA reveals fine-scale habitat associations for sedentary and resident marine species across a coastal mosaic of soft and hard-bottom habitats ...

• Main Authors: Wilms, Tim J.G., Jacobsen, Magnus W., Hansen, Brian K., Baktoft, Henrik, Bollhorn, Johan, Scharff-Olsen, Camilla H., Bertelsen, Jeannet L., García, Enrique García-Argudo, Støttrup, Josianne G., Nielsen, Einar E., Svendsen, Jon C.
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2022
• Subjects: FOS: Biological sciences; eDNA sampling; Baited Remote Underwater Video System BRUVS; Species mobility; Species-habitat associations; Baltic Sea; qPCR; goldsinny wrasse; Atlantic cod; European flounder; European plaice; Gadus morhua; Ctenolabrus rupestris; Platichthys flesus; Pleuronectes platessa; Bayesian modeling; atlantic cod
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.69p8cz93p; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.69p8cz93p

Accurate knowledge on spatiotemporal distributions of marine species and their association with surrounding habitats is crucial to inform adaptive management actions responding to coastal degradation across the globe. Here, we investigate the potential use of environmental DNA (eDNA) to detect species-habitat associations in a patchy coastal area of the Baltic Sea. We directly compare species-specific qPCR analysis of eDNA with baited remote underwater video systems (BRUVS), two non-invasive methods widely used to monitor marine habitats. Four focal species (cod Gadus morhua, flounder Platichthys flesus, plaice Pleuronectes platessa and goldsinny wrasse Ctenolabrus rupestris) were selected based on contrasting habitat associations (reef- vs. sand-associated species), as well as differential levels of mobility and residency, to investigate whether these factors affected the detection of species-habitat associations from eDNA. To this end, a species-specific qPCR assay for goldsinny wrasse is developed and ... : Water samples were collected directly from the surface water and extracted using a disposable 60 mL sterile syringe and injected into an enclosed Sterivex-GP capsule filter (0.22 µm pore size, SVGPL10RC, Millipore, CA, USA). A total of 1000 mL seawater was filtered for each sample, however on one occasion, due to clogging, only 850 mL could be filtered. After filtration, the sterivex filters were closed using sterile luer lock caps (Cole Palmer, Vernon Hills, IL, USA), put in individual zip-locked bags and stored in a cooling box on ice before subsequently transferring them to a -20˚C freezer upon return from the field. A maximum of two water samples were taken on a given sampling day, for which site selection was based on accessibility of the site (depending on weather conditions) or otherwise balanced among sites as much as possible. One field blank was taken on 18 June 2018 at 12:50h by filtering 900 mL nuclease free water at site to control for potential DNA contamination related to the field sampling ...