Department of Aquatic Ecology, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Überlandstrasse 133, 8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland.
Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zürich, Winterthurerstr. 190, 8057, Zürich, Switzerland.
Sci Rep. 2021 May 14;11(1):10375. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-89942-6.
Large tropical and subtropical rivers are among the most biodiverse ecosystems worldwide, but also suffer from high anthropogenic pressures. These rivers are hitherto subject to little or no routine biomonitoring, which would be essential for identification of conservation areas of high importance. Here, we use a single environmental DNA multi-site sampling campaign across the 200,000 km Chao Phraya river basin, Thailand, to provide key information on fish diversity. We found a total of 108 fish taxa and identified key biodiversity patterns within the river network. By using hierarchical clustering, we grouped the fish communities of all sites across the catchment into distinct clusters. The clusters not only accurately matched the topology of the river network, but also revealed distinct groups of sites enabling informed conservation measures. Our study reveals novel opportunities of large-scale monitoring via eDNA to identify relevant areas within whole river catchments for conservation and habitat protection.
大型热带和亚热带河流是世界上生物多样性最丰富的生态系统之一，但也承受着高人为压力。这些河流迄今很少或根本没有进行常规的生物监测，而生物监测对于确定具有重要保护意义的保护区至关重要。在这里，我们使用一个横跨 20 万平方千米的泰国湄公河流域的单一环境 DNA 多点采样活动，提供有关鱼类多样性的关键信息。我们总共发现了 108 种鱼类分类群，并确定了河流网络内的关键生物多样性模式。通过使用层次聚类，我们将整个流域所有地点的鱼类群落分为不同的聚类。这些聚类不仅准确地匹配了河流网络的拓扑结构，而且还揭示了不同的站点群，从而能够采取明智的保护措施。我们的研究通过 eDNA 揭示了大规模监测的新机会，可以确定整个河流流域内的相关区域，以进行保护和生境保护。
