Warming increases environmental DNA (eDNA) removal rates in flowing waters

The use of environmental DNA (eDNA) for aquatic conservation is emerging, but its value is limited by our understanding of how environmental factors like temperature impact eDNA persistence. Although elevated temperatures are known to increase eDNA decay in lakes and ponds, no studies have experimentally explored the effect of temperature on eDNA fate in flowing waters where physical removal could obscure the effect of temperature on decay rates. We compared eDNA removal rates in n=12 indoor, recirculating mesocosms under varying water temperatures (20, 23, 26°C) and found that, for small eDNA particles (0.2-1.0μm), removal rates were higher at the warmest temperature (Tukey’s post hoc, p ≤0.03) while removal rates were consistent across temperatures for larger eDNA particles (>1.0μm, Tukey’s, p<0.05). Consequently, smaller eDNA particles were removed faster than larger particles (>1.0μm) at 26 and 23°C (Tukey’s, p<0.001) compared to 20°C (Tukey’s, p=0.01), resulting in an i..., , # Warming increases environmental DNA (eDNA) removal rates in flowing waters

Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.2bvq83c2d](10.5061/dryad.2bvq83c2d)

## Description of the data and file structure

*Principal Investigator Contact Information*

Name: Elise D. Snyder

Institution: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Email: [[e-mail]](mailto:[e-mail])

***Data overview:***

This dataset contains the data required to replicate analyses in Snyder et al. “Warming increases environmental DNA (eDNA) removal rates in flowing waters” (accepted for publication), wherein we explored two questions: 1) Do higher water temperatures accelerate eDNA removal from the water column in flowing waters? and 2) Do higher water temperatures impact eDNA removal differently based on particle size? To assess eDNA removal under a range of water temperatures (20, 23, and 26°C), we used n=12 recirculating, stream mesocosms, which we conditioned at their respective temperatures for 23 days. W...,