Environmental DNA metabarcoding reveals the effects of seafloor litter and trawling on marine biodiversity.

Environmental DNA (eDNA) techniques are emerging as promising tools for monitoring marine communities. However, they have not been applied to study the integrated effects of anthropogenic pressures on marine biodiversity. This study examined the relationships between demersal community species composition, key environmental features, and anthropogenic impacts such as fishing effort and seafloor litter using eDNA data in the central Tyrrhenian Sea. The results indicated that both fishing effort and seafloor litter influenced species composition and diversity. The adaptive traits of marine species played a critical role in their response to debris accumulation and fishing. Mobile species appeared to use relocation strategies, while sessile species showed flexibility in the face of disturbance. Epibiotic species relied on passive transport. The use of eDNA-based methods is a valuable resource for monitoring anthropogenic impacts during scientific surveys, enhancing our ability to monitor marine ecosystems and more effectively assess the effects of pollution.

• Publication year

  2024

• Venue

  Marine Environmental Research

• Publication date

  2024-02-01

• Fields of study

  Medicine, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1016/j.marenvres.2024.106415PMID 38395681
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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