eDNA metabarcoding enriches traditional trawl survey data for monitoring biodiversity in the marine environment - Dataset 2 (12S rRNA genetic marker)

Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding holds promise to address this monitoring challenge. We conducted paired sampling at 54 sites for fish and invertebrate assemblages in the Northwest Atlantic using groundfish trawls and eDNA metabarcoding of benthic seawater using four genetic markers (12S rRNA, 16S rRNA, 18S rRNA, and CO1).

This dataset is from the 12S rRNA genetic marker only; results from the 16S marker are also available within GBIF. Compared to trawling, eDNA detected similar patterns of species turnover, larger estimates of gamma diversity, and smaller estimates of alpha diversity. A total of 63.6% (42/66) of fish species captured by trawling were detected by eDNA, along with an additional 26 species.