Offshore Scotian Shelf biodiversity assessment using eDNA metabarcoding 2020

Samples were collected by the DFO Maritimes summer ecosystem survey at paired trawl sites. 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).

Compared to trawling, eDNA detected similar patterns of species turnover, larger estimates of gamma diversity, and smaller estimates of alpha diversity.