Spatial and Seasonal Biodiversity Variation in a Large Mediterranean Lagoon Using Environmental DNA Metabarcoding Through Sponge Tissue Collection
ABSTRACT Ecosystem monitoring is a fundamental tool to avert biodiversity loss, gathering valuable information that can be used to develop conservation policies, evaluate management outcomes, and guide science‐based decision‐making. The Mar Menor coastal lagoon (South‐East of Spain) has experienced...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Environmental DNA |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/edn3.70129 |
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| author | Andrea Corral‐Lou Ana Ramón‐Laca Lourdes Alcaraz Robert Cassidy Sergi Taboada Stefano Mariani Borja Mercado Martin Vicente‐Ríos Ángel Pérez‐Ruzafa Ramón Gallego Ana Riesgo |
| author_facet | Andrea Corral‐Lou Ana Ramón‐Laca Lourdes Alcaraz Robert Cassidy Sergi Taboada Stefano Mariani Borja Mercado Martin Vicente‐Ríos Ángel Pérez‐Ruzafa Ramón Gallego Ana Riesgo |
| author_sort | Andrea Corral‐Lou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT Ecosystem monitoring is a fundamental tool to avert biodiversity loss, gathering valuable information that can be used to develop conservation policies, evaluate management outcomes, and guide science‐based decision‐making. The Mar Menor coastal lagoon (South‐East of Spain) has experienced episodes of eutrophication due to intensive agriculture and other human activities, causing mass mortalities of marine fauna. In this scenario, biodiversity monitoring is crucial to evaluate the status of fauna and flora and take appropriate measures. Here, our main objective was to assess faunal composition and its spatial and temporal structure associated with the pillars used to support the built recreational well‐being facilities along the Mar Menor. We capitalized on the many sea sponges that settle on these structures by collecting tissue samples for subsequent extraction of filtered environmental DNA (i.e., ‘natural sampler DNA’, nsDNA) in northern and southern areas of the lagoon, both in spring and summer. We metabarcoded all samples at the cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene (COI), and reliably identified 76 taxa belonging to nine different phyla, with annelids, poriferans, mollusks and cnidarians being the richest groups. We detected emblematic species of threatened status, such as pipefishes (genus Syngnathus) and the piddock clam, Pholas dactylus, and others known to become invasive, such as the ascidians Styela canopus and Botrylloides niger, the barnacle Amphibalanus amphitrite, and the polychaetes Branchiomma bairdi and Branchiomma boholense. The use of common and widely distributed sponges as natural eDNA samplers allowed us to characterize both spatial and temporal diversity, further emphasizing the importance of this low‐cost approach to monitoring biological communities in shallow coastal ecosystems. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-5585fa45bfbe48bba8b147394f510cfb |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2637-4943 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental DNA |
| spelling | doaj-art-5585fa45bfbe48bba8b147394f510cfb2025-08-20T03:27:44ZengWileyEnvironmental DNA2637-49432025-05-0173n/an/a10.1002/edn3.70129Spatial and Seasonal Biodiversity Variation in a Large Mediterranean Lagoon Using Environmental DNA Metabarcoding Through Sponge Tissue CollectionAndrea Corral‐Lou0Ana Ramón‐Laca1Lourdes Alcaraz2Robert Cassidy3Sergi Taboada4Stefano Mariani5Borja Mercado6Martin Vicente‐Ríos7Ángel Pérez‐Ruzafa8Ramón Gallego9Ana Riesgo10Department of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC Madrid SpainDepartment of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC Madrid SpainDepartment of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC Madrid SpainDepartment of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC Madrid SpainDepartment of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC Madrid SpainSchool of Biological and Environmental Sciences Liverpool John Moores University Liverpool UKDepartment of Ecology and Hydrology Universidad de Murcia Murcia SpainDepartment of Ecology and Hydrology Universidad de Murcia Murcia SpainDepartment of Ecology and Hydrology Universidad de Murcia Murcia SpainDepartment of Genetics Universidad Autónoma de Madrid Madrid SpainDepartment of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC Madrid SpainABSTRACT Ecosystem monitoring is a fundamental tool to avert biodiversity loss, gathering valuable information that can be used to develop conservation policies, evaluate management outcomes, and guide science‐based decision‐making. The Mar Menor coastal lagoon (South‐East of Spain) has experienced episodes of eutrophication due to intensive agriculture and other human activities, causing mass mortalities of marine fauna. In this scenario, biodiversity monitoring is crucial to evaluate the status of fauna and flora and take appropriate measures. Here, our main objective was to assess faunal composition and its spatial and temporal structure associated with the pillars used to support the built recreational well‐being facilities along the Mar Menor. We capitalized on the many sea sponges that settle on these structures by collecting tissue samples for subsequent extraction of filtered environmental DNA (i.e., ‘natural sampler DNA’, nsDNA) in northern and southern areas of the lagoon, both in spring and summer. We metabarcoded all samples at the cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene (COI), and reliably identified 76 taxa belonging to nine different phyla, with annelids, poriferans, mollusks and cnidarians being the richest groups. We detected emblematic species of threatened status, such as pipefishes (genus Syngnathus) and the piddock clam, Pholas dactylus, and others known to become invasive, such as the ascidians Styela canopus and Botrylloides niger, the barnacle Amphibalanus amphitrite, and the polychaetes Branchiomma bairdi and Branchiomma boholense. The use of common and widely distributed sponges as natural eDNA samplers allowed us to characterize both spatial and temporal diversity, further emphasizing the importance of this low‐cost approach to monitoring biological communities in shallow coastal ecosystems.https://doi.org/10.1002/edn3.70129coastal lagoonsecological disturbanceeDNAmarine ecologymetabarcodingnatural sampler |
| spellingShingle | Andrea Corral‐Lou Ana Ramón‐Laca Lourdes Alcaraz Robert Cassidy Sergi Taboada Stefano Mariani Borja Mercado Martin Vicente‐Ríos Ángel Pérez‐Ruzafa Ramón Gallego Ana Riesgo Spatial and Seasonal Biodiversity Variation in a Large Mediterranean Lagoon Using Environmental DNA Metabarcoding Through Sponge Tissue Collection Environmental DNA coastal lagoons ecological disturbance eDNA marine ecology metabarcoding natural sampler |
| title | Spatial and Seasonal Biodiversity Variation in a Large Mediterranean Lagoon Using Environmental DNA Metabarcoding Through Sponge Tissue Collection |
| title_full | Spatial and Seasonal Biodiversity Variation in a Large Mediterranean Lagoon Using Environmental DNA Metabarcoding Through Sponge Tissue Collection |
| title_fullStr | Spatial and Seasonal Biodiversity Variation in a Large Mediterranean Lagoon Using Environmental DNA Metabarcoding Through Sponge Tissue Collection |
| title_full_unstemmed | Spatial and Seasonal Biodiversity Variation in a Large Mediterranean Lagoon Using Environmental DNA Metabarcoding Through Sponge Tissue Collection |
| title_short | Spatial and Seasonal Biodiversity Variation in a Large Mediterranean Lagoon Using Environmental DNA Metabarcoding Through Sponge Tissue Collection |
| title_sort | spatial and seasonal biodiversity variation in a large mediterranean lagoon using environmental dna metabarcoding through sponge tissue collection |
| topic | coastal lagoons ecological disturbance eDNA marine ecology metabarcoding natural sampler |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/edn3.70129 |
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