Fish eDNA survey of the Danube Catchment
Abstract
Since its first application to macroorganisms in 2013, environmental DNA (eDNA) has increasingly appeared to be a promising non-invasive method for improving aquatic biodiversity monitoring. eDNA refers to DNA obtained from environmental samples without the prior isolation of any target organism. In the case of water samples, eDNA contains both intra-organism DNA (e.g., small planktonic organisms) and extra-organism DNA (e.g., from fish) which can be cellular or extracellular and degraded. With the emergence of next-generation sequencing (NGS) platforms and the use of universal PCR primers (eDNA metabarcoding), large collections of taxa can be identified via a single experiment. This not only offers the possibility to detect rare or evasive species but also allows the rapid biodiversity assessment of large communities and the reconstruction of ecological and evolutionary processes from easy-to-collect samples. Recently, a study demonstrated the capacity of eDNA metabarcoding to describe longitudinal fish assemblage patterns in a large river (Rhône River), and metabarcoding appears to be a reliable, cost-effective method for future monitoring. Our aim is to apply this methodology to the Danube basin on the Joint Danube Survey 4 with the support of ICPDR and in collaboration with the EU Cost Action DNAqua-net. In order to extend the study to a larger number of sites, a consortium has been set up under the impetus of the Institute for Hydrobiology and Aquatic Ecosystem Management (IHG, BOKU): ICPDR, DNAqua-net, Interreg Project MEASURES, SPYGEN Laboratory - France, VigiLIFE NGO - France, ÖK-IAD and BMNT.
keywords eDNA Danube Fisch
Publikationen
Project staff
Paul Meulenbroek
Dr. Paul Meulenbroek MSc.
paul.meulenbroek@boku.ac.at
Tel: +43 1 47654-81228
Project Leader
01.05.2019 - 31.12.2020