Environmental DNA reveals fine-scale habitat associations for sedentary and resident marine species across a coastal mosaic of soft and hard-bottom habitats

Accurate knowledge on spatiotemporal distributions of marine species and their association with surrounding habitats is crucial to inform adaptive management actions responding to coastal degradation across the globe. Here, we investigate the potential use of environmental DNA (eDNA) to detect species-habitat associations in a patchy coastal area of the Baltic Sea. We directly compare species-specific qPCR analysis of eDNA with baited remote underwater video systems (BRUVS), two non-invasive methods widely used to monitor marine habitats. Four focal species (cod Gadus morhua, flounder Platichthys flesus, plaice Pleuronectes platessa and goldsinny wrasse Ctenolabrus rupestris) were selected based on contrasting habitat associations (reef- vs. sand-associated species), as well as differential levels of mobility and residency, to investigate whether these factors affected the detection of species-habitat associations from eDNA. To this end, a species-specific qPCR assay for goldsinny wrass...

准确掌握海洋物种的时空分布及其与周边栖息地的关联，对于为全球应对海岸退化的适应性管理措施提供依据至关重要。在此，我们探究了环境DNA（eDNA）在波罗的海斑块状海岸区域检测物种-栖息地关联的潜在应用价值。我们将eDNA的物种特异性qPCR分析与诱饵远程水下视频系统（BRUVS）进行直接对比——这两种均为广泛应用于海洋栖息地监测的非侵入性方法。我们选取了四种焦点物种（鳕鱼Gadus morhua、比目鱼Platichthys flesus、鲽鱼Pleuronectes platessa及金鳍濑鱼Ctenolabrus rupestris），其依据为它们具有对比鲜明的栖息地关联（礁栖型 vs. 沙栖型物种）以及不同的活动能力与居留性水平，旨在探究这些因素是否会影响基于eDNA的物种-栖息地关联检测结果。为此，我们针对金鳍濑鱼开发了一种物种特异性qPCR检测方法……