The utility of environmental DNA from sediment and water samples for recovery of observed plant and animal species from four Mojave Desert springs

Background: Mojave Desert springs are fragile ecosystems, hosting endemic plants and animals, which are threatened by the increasing human demand for water and climate change. To develop management practices that will protect the groundwater-dependent ecosystems at Mojave Desert springs, real-time, low cost biodiversity monitoring and assessments are required. Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding uses DNA shed from organisms (e.g. skin cells, feces, pollen, etc.) that is present in water, air, soil, or sediment samples to assess community composition. This approach can increase the detection sensitivity for rare and elusive species, compared to expensive and time-consuming conventional methods, which also require taxonomic expertise.

Aims: This study tests the effectiveness of eDNA techniques in capturing the observed Mojave Desert spring biodiversity in the winter and spring of 2019 at four distinct, naturally occurring springs. We also test the utility of sample types (water ver...