Environmental DNA analysis for revealing fish community structure in the Arctic Ocean

This study aims to reveal how the ongoing climate change will affect the community structure and distribution of fish inhabiting the Arctic region. To achieve this aim, environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding, an increasingly used method for biodiversity monitoring, is considered the most appropriate because of its detection power, simplicity, and cost-effectiveness. Therefore, eDNA samples were collected during the R/V Mirai Arctic cruise (MR20-05C) from the vast open ocean, including the subtropic and subarctic gyre in the Northwestern Pacific, the Bering Sea, and the Chukchi Sea in the Arctic Ocean. These samples will be used for fish eDNA detection to establish an optimum eDNA survey protocol in the Arctic and to reveal the spatiotemporal distribution and community structure of the Arctic fish.