Detection and succession properties of forested vernal pools with eDNA metabarcoding
We examined the capacity of environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding to detect indicator fauna and characterize biodiversity of eukaryotes in forested vernal pools. We collected water eDNA samples from 12 pools in Indiana, New York, and Massachusetts from 2020-2021, employing different sampling protocols and targeting three genetic loci (12S, COI, 18S) to estimate local, landscape, and temporal variation in eukaryotic detection, diversity, and composition.