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A simple, rapid method for detecting seven common invasive fish species in Europe from environmental DNA
Author(s) -
Clusa Laura,
GarcíaVázquez E.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
aquatic conservation: marine and freshwater ecosystems
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.95
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1099-0755
pISSN - 1052-7613
DOI - 10.1002/aqc.2890
Subject(s) - gambusia , micropterus , biology , environmental dna , freshwater ecosystem , freshwater fish , biodiversity , introduced species , lepomis , invasive species , ecology , zoology , fishery , fish <actinopterygii> , ecosystem
Abstract Biological invasions are a global threat to biodiversity, and many arise from deliberate introductions. The American freshwater fish Micropterus salmoides and Ameiurus spp. ( Ameiurus melas and Ameiurus nebulosus ) were introduced to Europe for recreational fishing, Gambusia holbrooki and Gambusia affinis were introduced for mosquito population control, and Lepomis gibbosus was introduced as an ornamental species. The Asiatic Pseudorasbora parva was acquired inadvertently as an accompanying species in fish consignments. This article presents a novel approach for detecting these species directly from water samples based on a panel of five taxon‐specific primers within 16S rDNA. The primers were validated from tissue, in aquarium experiments, and from Ebro River water samples (Spain). With a simple polymerase chain reaction (PCR) protocol, followed by visualization in agarose gel or capillary electrophoresis, it was possible to detect these species from environmental DNA concentrations as low as 0.89–100 pg mL –1 . This sensitive and economical tool can be used to control European invasions of these species and to preserve native biodiversity.