2 Works
Assessing environmental DNA metabarcoding and camera trap surveys as complementary tools for biomonitoring of remote desert water bodies
Luca Fumagalli, Eduard Mas-Carrió, Judith Schneider, Battogtokh Nasanbat, Samiya Ravchig, Mmabaled Buxton, Casper Nyamukondiwa, Céline Stoffel, Claudio Augugliaro, Francisco Ceacero, Pierre Taberlet, Olivier Glaizot & Philippe Christe
Biodiversity assessments are indispensable tools for planning and monitoring conservation strategies. Camera traps (CT) are widely used to monitor wildlife and have proven their usefulness. Environmental DNA (eDNA)-based approaches are increasingly implemented for biomonitoring, combining sensitivity, high taxonomic coverage and resolution, non-invasiveness and easiness of sampling, but remain challenging for terrestrial fauna. However, in remote desert areas where scattered water bodies attract terrestrial species, which release their DNA into the water, this method presents a...
Ephemeral habitat supports high alpha and beta diversity during drought in a subtropical semiarid wetland
Thethela Bokhutlo, Eduardo R. Cunha & Kirk O. Winemiller
Globally, the number of rivers with intermittent flow is increasing due to climate change and water abstraction for human consumption. Currently, our understanding of how hydrology in subtropical rivers with intermittent flow affects the structure and dynamics of aquatic communities is poorly understood. Here, we investigated how fish α and β-diversity patterns in intermittent channels in the lower reaches of the Okavango Delta respond to seasonal flooding and drought. Under low-flow conditions, ephemeral habitat had...