Environmental DNA-based approaches for biomonitoring in Lakes : applications to fish populations
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Abstract
Environmental DNA (eDNA) represents a major advancement for the study and monitoring of aquatic biodiversity. It offers a non-invasive alternative to traditional biomonitoring methods, while providing particularly effective tools in hard-to-access environments or for detecting elusive and/or low-abundance species.After reviewing the main challenges, as well as the advantages and limitations of eDNA-based approaches for monitoring lake ecosystems, this article presents several recent developments and applications of these methods for the study of fish populations and communities. The results illustrate (i) the capacity for targeted detection and quantification to study the reproductive phenology of several species using digital PCR, and (ii) the establishment of robust inventories of fish communities across various types of lakes, along with tests aimed at strengthening the retrieval of quantitative information from metabarcoding.
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