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Designing environmental DNA surveys in complex aquatic systems: Backpack sampling for rare amphibians in Sierra Nevada meadows
Author(s) -
Pope Karen L.,
Goldberg Caren S.,
Nelson Nicolette L.,
Cummings Adam K.,
Seaborn Travis,
PioviaScott Jonah
Publication year - 2020
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.3444
Subject(s) - environmental dna , sampling (signal processing) , occupancy , ecology , scale (ratio) , environmental science , biology , wetland , geography , cartography , biodiversity , filter (signal processing) , computer science , computer vision
Surveys for environmental DNA (eDNA) can provide an efficient and effective means of detecting aquatic organisms in various types of aquatic systems. In the summer of 2017, the efficacy of a new, integrated eDNA backpack sampler to detect two native amphibians ( Rana sierrae and R. cascadae ) at risk was tested in complex mountain meadows in California. Samples were collected at 65 locations in 15 meadows where the target species were known to be present or were historically present. Collection and preservation of individual samples took less than 10 min on average. Environmental DNA analysis methods detected each species at all meadows with visual detections ( N = 11) except one with one frog seen away from sampling sites. Bayesian multi‐scale occupancy modelling indicated that conditional detection probabilities at the sample level ranged from 0.30 (CL 0.07–0.65) at meadow heads where no frogs were observed during visual surveys to 0.93 (CL 0.77–1.00) at the meadow foot with at least one frog observed in the vicinity. Compared with visual surveys, eDNA methods more frequently detected amphibians at the sampling‐location scale. The improvement in detection using eDNA methods was most pronounced for samples collected at the downstream ends of meadows where water converges, where eDNA methods detected target species at 10 of 11 occupied meadows. These results suggest that the addition of eDNA sampling to visual surveys in mountain meadows will improve survey accuracy and increase the probability of detecting rare frogs.