Data from: Applying eDNA Metabarcoding to assess invertebrate biodiversity of Eelgrass (Zostera marina) meadows across Nova Scotia

Eelgrass (Zostera marina) meadows are a common feature of Atlantic
coastlines, forming productive marine communities that are valued for
their ecosystem services. Long-term adaptive management of these sensitive
ecosystems and effective conservation of the biodiversity they support
requires tools to evaluate and monitor patterns of diversity.
Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding is a relatively new approach for
estimating aquatic biodiversity, with significant potential for
broad-scale monitoring of complex habitats like seagrass communities. In
this study, we utilized eDNA metabarcoding to characterize invertebrate
biodiversity in eelgrass meadows along a latitudinal gradient in the
Northwest Atlantic and compared results to historical surveys of eelgrass
in the region. Across 17 sites, 138 metazoan invertebrate taxa were
detected with a taxonomic probability assignment > 95%. eDNA was
successful at capturing regional patterns of community structure and
detecting 20 of 26 common invertebrate taxa based on published records, as
well as 80 species not historically recorded. These results emphasize the
potential of eDNA to augment eelgrass ecosystem monitoring by enabling
efficient, non-invasive cataloguing of biodiversity, including cryptic
species that evade conventional sampling.