Biodiversity surveys may require the use of multiple types of sampling gear to maximize the efficiency of species detections, yet few studies have investigated how to optimally distribute effort among gear. In a recent paper by Andres and colleagues, including CBFS senior scientist Randy Jackson, the authors compared eDNA metabarcoding and capture- based sampling surveys (electrofishing, fyke netting, gillnetting, and seining) to sample fish species richness in Oneida Lake. They evaluated the success of the sampling methods individually and in combination to determine the allocation of effort and cost across sampling gear that provides the optimal approach for lake-wide species inventories. We found that eDNA metabarcoding detected more species than any other sampling method, including 11 species that were not detected with any capture- based approach. The results indicate that eDNA metabarcoding is a rapid and cost- efficient tool for biodiversity monitoring and that assessing the complementarity of multiple sampling types can inform the development of optimal approaches for measuring fish species richness.
Andres, K.J., Lambert, T.D., Lodge, D.M., Andrés, J., Jackson, J.R., 2023. Combining sampling gear to optimally inventory species highlights the efficiency of eDNA metabarcoding. Environmental DNA 5, 146-157.
