Environmental DNA analysis reveals the spatial distribution, abundance, and biomass of Japanese eels at the river‐basin scale

By Hikaru Itakura, Ryoshiro Wakiya, Satoshi Yamamoto, K. Kaifu, Takuya Sato, Toshifumi Minamoto. Aquatic conservation, 2019

94 citations recorded by the source corpus.

There is growing international concern about declines in populations of anguillid eels, resulting in their inclusion in the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Monitoring the population dynamics of these species is often challenging, however, owing to their broad distributions and complex, catadromous life histories. Whether environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis could be used to monitor the spatial distribution of anguillid eels in rivers was investigated by conducting basin‐scale surveys of Japanese eels, Anguilla japonica Temminck & Schlegel, 1846, in 10 rivers in Japan, and comparing the results obtained using eDNA analysis with the results obtained using the electrofishing method. Moreover, the relationship between the eDNA concentration and the abundance and biomass of Japanese eels was examined. The eDNA of Japanese eels was detected at 56 (91.8%) of the 61 study sites from which individuals were collected by electrofishing, and at an additional 35 sites where individuals were not directly collected. This indicates that eDNA analysis has a greater sensitivity for detecting the presence of eels, making it a powerful tool for monitoring the spatial distribution of anguillid eels in rivers. A significant, but weak, positive relationship between the eDNA concentration and the abundance and biomass of Japanese eels was also found, suggesting that eDNA analysis may be useful for estimating the abundance and biomass of anguillid eels in rivers. This is the first study to demonstrate the potential usefulness of eDNA analysis for estimating the spatial distribution, abundance, and biomass of Japanese eels in rivers. eDNA analysis will allow anguillid eel populations to be monitored over large spatial and temporal scales using a consistent protocol, with reduced time and effort compared with conventional techniques, providing invaluable information for managing populations of these endangered species.

Subfields: Ecology, Molecular Biology, Nature and Landscape Conservation

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/58d85acc43526badefd0f87ef2f9851ed11f4544

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In Ecology

1. B. Stoeckle
2. Christina C. Belle
3. Elise Furlan
4. J. Geist
5. M. Broadhurst
6. J. DiBattista
7. Michael W. Davis

In Molecular Biology

1. Elise Furlan
2. J. Geist
3. B. Stoeckle
4. J. DiBattista
5. Christina C. Belle

In Nature and Landscape Conservation

1. B. Stoeckle
2. Christina C. Belle
3. Elise Furlan
4. J. Geist
5. M. Broadhurst
6. Michael W. Davis

Citations in the corpus

• Environmental DNA (eDNA) as a tool for assessing fish biomass: A review of approaches and future considerations for resource surveys (2021, methodology): “…Kit qPCR TaqMan assay of the 16S rRNA gene Standard curves based on serial dilutions of DNA Species detection rate (+), biomass (+) and abundance (+) Itakura et al. (2019) DenmarkS Atlantic herring, Atlantic cod, European flounder, European plaice and Atlantic mackerelSp Difference between eDNA…”
• Taxonomic and geographical representation of freshwater environmental DNA research in aquatic conservation (2019, background): “…the sensitivity of species detection using eDNA, this technique can be an important supplementary tool for endangered species monitoring (Biggs et al., 2015; Itakura et al., 2019; Stoeckle et al., 2016; Thomsen et al., 2012), especially in deep and turbid aquatic habitats (Bellemain et al., 2016).”