From DNA to diagnostics: A case study using macroinvertebrate metabarcoding to assess the effectiveness of restoration measures in a Dutch stream.

Autor: van der Lee GH; Wageningen Environmental Research, Wageningen UR, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, the Netherlands. Electronic address: gea.vanderlee@wur.nl., Polling M; Wageningen Environmental Research, Wageningen UR, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, the Netherlands., van der Laan I; Waterschap de Dommel, Bosscheweg 56, 5283 WB Boxtel, the Netherlands., Kodde L; Wageningen Environmental Research, Wageningen UR, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, the Netherlands., Verdonschot RCM; Wageningen Environmental Research, Wageningen UR, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, the Netherlands.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: The Science of the total environment [Sci Total Environ] 2024 May 01; Vol. 923, pp. 171413. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Mar 04.
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171413
Abstrakt: Stream ecosystems are under pressure due to multiple stressors. Restoration measures can halt further degradation and improve their ecological status. However, assessment of the effectiveness of the implemented measures is often insufficient because of logistic and financial constraints. DNA-metabarcoding has been proposed to scale up sample processing, although its application as a diagnostic tool has received less attention. The aim of our study was to evaluate if DNA-metabarcoding of stream macroinvertebrates can be used to compute a stressor-specific index to assess the effectiveness of a stream restoration project. For this purpose, we sampled the upstream, restored, and downstream section of a recently restored lowland stream in the Netherlands. At each site, we applied three different methods of macroinvertebrate identification: morphological identification of bulk samples (morphology), DNA-metabarcoding of the same bulk samples (DNA) and metabarcoding of eDNA extracted from the water (eDNA). First, we compared the community composition identified by each method. The communities identified by morphology and DNA were highly similar, whereas the communities generated by the eDNA differed. Second, we analysed whether the identification methods could be used to assess the effectiveness of the restoration project, focussing on a stressor-specific index for flow as the restoration measures aimed at improving flow conditions. Both the morphology and bulk DNA samples indicated improved flow conditions in the restored section of the stream (i.e., less stress from the reduction or absence of flow than in the unrestored sections). Contrary, the eDNA-water samples did not differentiate the amount of stress throughout the catchment, although applying recent developments in eDNA sampling could lead to more robust results. In conclusion, this study forms proof of concept that DNA from bulk samples can be utilized to assess the effectiveness of restoration measures, showing the added value of this approach for water managers.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Gea H. van der Lee reports financial support was provided by Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
(Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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