Gut content metabarcoding of specialized feeders is not a replacement for environmental DNA assays of seawater in reef environments
In tropical marine ecosystems, the coral-based diet of benthic-feeding reef fishes provides a window into the composition and health of coral reefs. In this study, for the first time, we compare multi-assay metabarcoding sequences of environmental DNA (eDNA) isolated from seawater and partially dige...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
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2023
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| Online Access: | http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/LP160100839 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/96303 |
| _version_ | 1848766132502134784 |
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| author | DiBattista, Joseph Liu, S.Y.V. De Brauwer, M. Wilkinson, S.P. West, K. Koziol, Adam Bunce, Michael |
| author_facet | DiBattista, Joseph Liu, S.Y.V. De Brauwer, M. Wilkinson, S.P. West, K. Koziol, Adam Bunce, Michael |
| author_sort | DiBattista, Joseph |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | In tropical marine ecosystems, the coral-based diet of benthic-feeding reef fishes provides a window into the composition and health of coral reefs. In this study, for the first time, we compare multi-assay metabarcoding sequences of environmental DNA (eDNA) isolated from seawater and partially digested gut items from an obligate corallivore butterflyfish (Chaetodon lunulatus) resident to coral reef sites in the South China Sea. We specifically tested the proportional and statistical overlap of the different approaches (seawater vs gut content metabarcoding) in characterizing eukaryotic community composition on coral reefs. Based on 18S and ITS2 sequence data, which differed in their taxonomic sensitivity, we found that gut content detections were only partially representative of the eukaryotic communities detected in the seawater based on low levels of taxonomic overlap (3 to 21%) and significant differences between the sampling approaches. Overall, our results indicate that dietary metabarcoding of specialized feeders can be complimentary to, but is no replacement for, more comprehensive environmental DNA assays of reef environments that might include the processing of different substrates (seawater, sediment, plankton) or traditional observational surveys. These molecular assays, in tandem, might be best suited to highly productive but cryptic oceanic environments (kelp forests, seagrass meadows) that contain an abundance of organisms that are often small, epiphytic, symbiotic, or cryptic. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:46:17Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-96303 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:46:17Z |
| publishDate | 2023 |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-963032024-11-25T00:02:29Z Gut content metabarcoding of specialized feeders is not a replacement for environmental DNA assays of seawater in reef environments DiBattista, Joseph Liu, S.Y.V. De Brauwer, M. Wilkinson, S.P. West, K. Koziol, Adam Bunce, Michael Adaptation Chaetodon lunulatus Coral reefs Environmental DNA Reef fish South China Sea Animals Ecosystem DNA, Environmental Coral Reefs Anthozoa Seawater Animals Anthozoa Ecosystem Seawater Coral Reefs DNA, Environmental In tropical marine ecosystems, the coral-based diet of benthic-feeding reef fishes provides a window into the composition and health of coral reefs. In this study, for the first time, we compare multi-assay metabarcoding sequences of environmental DNA (eDNA) isolated from seawater and partially digested gut items from an obligate corallivore butterflyfish (Chaetodon lunulatus) resident to coral reef sites in the South China Sea. We specifically tested the proportional and statistical overlap of the different approaches (seawater vs gut content metabarcoding) in characterizing eukaryotic community composition on coral reefs. Based on 18S and ITS2 sequence data, which differed in their taxonomic sensitivity, we found that gut content detections were only partially representative of the eukaryotic communities detected in the seawater based on low levels of taxonomic overlap (3 to 21%) and significant differences between the sampling approaches. Overall, our results indicate that dietary metabarcoding of specialized feeders can be complimentary to, but is no replacement for, more comprehensive environmental DNA assays of reef environments that might include the processing of different substrates (seawater, sediment, plankton) or traditional observational surveys. These molecular assays, in tandem, might be best suited to highly productive but cryptic oceanic environments (kelp forests, seagrass meadows) that contain an abundance of organisms that are often small, epiphytic, symbiotic, or cryptic. 2023 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/96303 10.7717/peerj.16075 eng http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/LP160100839 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Adaptation Chaetodon lunulatus Coral reefs Environmental DNA Reef fish South China Sea Animals Ecosystem DNA, Environmental Coral Reefs Anthozoa Seawater Animals Anthozoa Ecosystem Seawater Coral Reefs DNA, Environmental DiBattista, Joseph Liu, S.Y.V. De Brauwer, M. Wilkinson, S.P. West, K. Koziol, Adam Bunce, Michael Gut content metabarcoding of specialized feeders is not a replacement for environmental DNA assays of seawater in reef environments |
| title | Gut content metabarcoding of specialized feeders is not a replacement for environmental DNA assays of seawater in reef environments |
| title_full | Gut content metabarcoding of specialized feeders is not a replacement for environmental DNA assays of seawater in reef environments |
| title_fullStr | Gut content metabarcoding of specialized feeders is not a replacement for environmental DNA assays of seawater in reef environments |
| title_full_unstemmed | Gut content metabarcoding of specialized feeders is not a replacement for environmental DNA assays of seawater in reef environments |
| title_short | Gut content metabarcoding of specialized feeders is not a replacement for environmental DNA assays of seawater in reef environments |
| title_sort | gut content metabarcoding of specialized feeders is not a replacement for environmental dna assays of seawater in reef environments |
| topic | Adaptation Chaetodon lunulatus Coral reefs Environmental DNA Reef fish South China Sea Animals Ecosystem DNA, Environmental Coral Reefs Anthozoa Seawater Animals Anthozoa Ecosystem Seawater Coral Reefs DNA, Environmental |
| url | http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/LP160100839 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/96303 |