Assessing foraminiferal response to mercury using eDNA metabarcoding

In this study, we perform a mesocosm experimental test on the benthic foraminiferal community to investigate the effects of different mercury concentrations on morphological and molecular diversity. Our results show that eDNA metabarcoding offers several advantages over the classical morphological approach, such as a wider range of detected taxa, including the monothalamids and some hard-shelled species, among which some may be potential key foraminiferal (OTUs) indicators of Hg pollution.