marine communities metagenome raw sequence reads

Environmental DNA and RNA was co-extracted from biofouling and filtered water samples taken over a four month period in Auckland's Viaduct Harbour (New Zealand) over winter 2017. The samples were specifically screened for the invasive Mediterranean fanworm Sabella spallanzanii using droplet digital PCR in environmental DNA (eDNA). The metabarcoding study was undertaken to investigate the molecular biodiversity in eDNA and eRNA samples between water and plate biofilm samples, and if the biodiversity influences the ability to detect S. spallanzanii. The focus on a specific target NIS using species-specific assays enables the evaluation of sources for false positive and negative errors for more reliable detections.