Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Suzzi, Alessandra L.
• Huggett, Megan J.
• Gaston, Troy F.
• MacFarlane, Geoff R.
• Alam, Md Rushna
• Gibb, Jodie
• Stat, Michael

Titel

eDNA metabarcoding reveals shifts in sediment eukaryote communities in a metal contaminated estuary

Ist Teil von

• Marine pollution bulletin, 2023-06, Vol.191, p.114896-114896, Article 114896

Ort / Verlag

England: Elsevier Ltd

Erscheinungsjahr

2023

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

Elsevier ScienceDirect Journals

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Metal contamination is a global issue impacting biodiversity in urbanised estuaries. Traditional methods to assess biodiversity are time consuming, costly and often exclude small or cryptic organisms due to difficulties with morphological identification. Metabarcoding approaches have been increasingly recognised for their utility in monitoring, however studies have focused on freshwater and marine systems despite the ecological significance of estuaries. We targeted estuarine eukaryote communities within the sediments of Australia's largest urbanised estuary, where a history of industrial activity has resulted in a metal contamination gradient. We identified specific eukaryote families with significant correlations with bioavailable metal concentrations, indicating sensitivity or tolerance to specific metals. While polychaete families Terebellidae and Syllidae demonstrated tolerance to the contamination gradient, members of the meio- and microfaunal communities including diatoms, dinoflagellates and nematodes displayed sensitivities. These may have high value as indicators but are frequently missed in traditional surveys due to sampling limitations. •We sampled a metal contamination gradient in Australia's largest estuary.•We used eDNA metabarcoding to investigate benthic eukaryote communities.•Polychaete families displayed tolerance to bioavailable metal concentrations.•We found sensitivities of members of the meio- and microfaunal communities.•Metabarcoding offers a promising alternative to traditional monitoring approaches.