eDNA metabarcoding captures a decline of coral diversity in Taiping Island after the outbreak of Crown-of-Thorns starfish
We utilized environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding to assess the impact of a Crown-of-Thorns Starfish outbreak on coral communities at Taiping Island, South China Sea. The objectives were to evaluate changes in coral diversity and associated taxa due to the outbreak. One metabarcoding assay targeting 18S and two assays targeting ITS region were utilized on eDNA isolated from seawater samples.