Abstract Detail

Frontiers in Botany: Environmental DNA as an Emerging Tool for Measuring, Monitoring, and Managing Plant Biodiversity

Johnson, Mark D. [1], Fokar, Mohamed [2], Cox, Robert D. [2], Barnes, Matthew A. [3].

Airborne Environmental DNA metabarcoding as a plant community survey method.

Traditional methods for plant community monitoring are often disruptive to the environment and time consuming, and the results gathered are highly linked to sampling effort. To address these concerns, airborne environmental DNA (eDNA) can be used to determine the presence of a species through the analysis of air samples. Airborne eDNA studies have primarily focused on single species presence-absence studies, but a whole-community metabarcoding approach to airborne eDNA analysis would dramatically expand the utility of this emerging approach. Therefore, the goal of this project was to compare the results of a metabarcoding analysis of airborne eDNA to a more traditional, visual plant community survey based on established transect methods. Airborne eDNA samples were collected once every two weeks over the course of a year and compared to two separate plant community surveys completed during that same time. The two plant community surveys were completed in the fall and spring to correspond with flowering seasons. We found that both methods varied in the types and amounts of species that were found. Over the course of the year, eDNA methods detected 94 species in total compared to 87 species across the two traditional surveys. However, when considering only the two eDNA sampling events closest in time to the traditional surveys, eDNA methods detected 73 species. Notably, traditional and eDNA-based methods shared many species in common, however, both methods detected species the other did not detect. For example, the airborne eDNA methodology found the invasive tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima) that was not seen in the traditional survey, but the traditional survey found more cacti compared to the environmental DNA method. Additionally, we saw trends in our eDNA samples over the course of the year that mimicked species ecology (e.g., increasing rates of detection during reproductive season and decreasing rates of detection during senescence). In conclusion, airborne eDNA metabarcoding was shown to be an effective, accurate, and time and cost-efficient method of surveying plant communities.

1 - Texas Tech University, Department of Natural Resources Management, Goddard Building, Box 42125, Lubbock, TX, 79409, USA
2 - Texas Tech University, Goddard Building, Box 42125, Lubbock, TX, 79409, United States
3 - Texas Tech University, Department of Natural Resources Management, Goddard Building, Box 42125, Lubbock, TX, 79409, United States

Keywords:
none specified

Presentation Type: Symposium Presentation
Session: SY3, Frontiers in Botany: Environmental DNA as an Emerging Tool for Measuring, Monitoring, and Managing Plant Biodiversity
Location: /
Date: Tuesday, July 20th, 2021
Time: 10:45 AM(EDT)
Number: SY3003
Abstract ID:654
Candidate for Awards:None