Seasonal aquatic eDNA metabarcoding for terrestrial vertebrate monitoring in the Gaoligong Mountains biodiversity hotspot

This submission contains raw sequencing data from a study investigating the efficacy of aquatic environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding for monitoring terrestrial vertebrate communities in the Gaoligong Mountains, a global biodiversity hotspot in southwestern China. The research focused on understanding the spatio-temporal dynamics of eDNA signals, particularly the effects of seasonal variation and the extent of downstream transport in a complex mountain river network.The overall study design involved systematic water sample collection during two distinct periods to assess seasonal impacts: a high-rainfall season and a low-rainfall season. This specific SRA submission contains only the raw sequencing data from the high-rainfall (April) season. The corresponding data for the low-rainfall (October-November) season has been previously submitted and is available under NCBI BioProject ID PRJNA1231792. All data consists of metabarcoding sequences targeting the vertebrate 12S rRNA gene.This molecular survey was conducted as part of an integrated study that included a concurrent, year-long camera-trapping program. The resulting eDNA data was compared with camera trap records to evaluate the complementarity of the two methods and, critically, to quantify the downstream transport distance of terrestrial vertebrate eDNA. The findings aim to provide quantitative guidance for the design and interpretation of future eDNA-based biodiversity monitoring programs for terrestrial wildlife.