The effects of spatial and temporal replicate sampling on eDNA metabarcoding

Abstract

We conclude that the dissimilarity of temporal replicates at a 1 week interval is comparable to that of spatial replicate samples. It increases, however, for larger time intervals, which suggests that population turnover effects can be stronger than community heterogeneity. Spatial replicates alone may not be enough for optimal recovery of taxonomic diversity, and cross-comparisons of different locations are susceptible to inflated dissimilarities when performed over larger time intervals. Many of the observed MOTUs could be classified as either phyto- or zooplankton, two groups that have gained traction in recent years as potential novel bio-indicator species. Our results, however, indicate that these groups might be susceptible to large community shifts in relatively short periods of time, highlighting the need to take temporal variations into consideration when assessing their usability as water quality indicators.