eDNA-based survey of the marine vertebrate biodiversity off the west coast of Guadeloupe (French West Indies)

Data were collected during a dedicated campaign to study eDNA in the French Caribbean archipelago of Guadeloupe, organized and financed by the UMR ISYEB and the Labex DRIIHM, and beneficiating of a collaboration with the NGO OMMAG (Observatoire des Mammifères Marins de l’Archipel Guadeloupéen - Guadeloupe Archipelago Marine Mammal Observatory) for at sea campaigns.
The project consisted in taking and analysing eDNA samples using, on consecutive days, a same protocol on a same transect along the west coast of Guadeloupe. Twelve samples were taken. Two sampling phases were carried out: one in 2021 over four consecutive days, the other in 2022 over two consecutive days. eDNAs contained in the samples were analysed by metabarcoding using vertebrate–specific primers (Taberlet et al. 2018). The resulting dataset consisted in lists of vertebrate taxa identified from analysed MOTU (Molecular Taxonomic Unit - a grouping of sequences based on their molecular similarity) in the different samples. The taxonomic assignments were made at the most precise taxonomic rank possible.
The project resulted in a local taxonomic inventory of marine vertebrates based on eDNA. Comparison between samples provided an overview of the short and middle terms temporal variations in taxonomic composition at a single sampling point, as captured by our eDNA sampling and analysis protocols.