Ailaoshan leeches iDNA metabarcoding data

We report here a large-scale attempt to use iDNA to estimate vertebrate occupancy at the scale of an entire protected area, the Ailaoshan national-level nature reserve in Yunnan province, southwest China. Ailaoshan covers 677 km2, nearly the size of Singapore, and the Yunnan Forestry Service has previously attempted to monitor vertebrate diversity in the reserve via camera traps. Our goal was to test whether it is realistic to scale up an iDNA survey within a realistic management setting, from sample collection and molecular labwork through bioinformatic processing and statistical analysis.