College of Environmental and Safety Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266042, China; Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 7 Nanhai Road, Qingdao, 266071, China; Laboratory for Marine Ecology and Environmental Science, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266071, China; Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 7 Nanhai Road, Qingdao, 266071, China.
College of Environmental and Safety Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266042, China.
Environ Res. 2024 Aug 15;255:119183. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.119183. Epub 2024 May 19.
Under pressure from climate change and fishing, the Southern Ocean ecosystems have been changing. Zooplankton plays a vital role in the food web of the Southern Ocean and is crucial for maintaining ecosystem stability. Investigating the circumpolar-scale species composition and biodiversity of zooplankton is crucial for ensuring ecosystem-based conservation and management of the Southern Ocean in a changing climate. Here, we utilized eDNA metabarcoding to assess the biodiversity of zooplankton in the surface seawater surrounding the Antarctica based on samples collected during two expeditions spanning from 2021 to 2022. The main purpose of this paper is to provide more baseline information about circumpolar zooplankton biodiversity based on the emerging eDNA metabarcoding tool. This comprehensive approach led to the identification of over 300 distinct zooplankton species, forming a diverse community dominated by Jellyfish, Mollusca and Polychaete. Surprisingly, common dominant taxonomic groups such as krill and copepods in the Southern Ocean did not show high relative abundance (reads) in surface seawater. The results of redundancy analysis (RDA) and correlation analysis highlighted that water temperature and chlorophyll a had the most significant impact on the reads and diversity of zooplankton. Notably, the influence of water temperature on zooplankton seemed to be primarily indirect, potentially mediated by its effects on primary productivity. Increasing in primary production might lead to lower zooplankton biodiversity in the Southern Ocean in future. This research underscores the effectiveness of eDNA metabarcoding as a valuable tool for monitoring zooplankton diversity in open seas. Given the ongoing changes in temperature, sea ice extent and their impact on primary production, our findings lay a crucial foundation for using eDNA techniques to establish long-term biodiversity monitoring programs across extensive marine ecosystems in the future.
受气候变化和捕捞的压力影响，南大洋生态系统一直在发生变化。浮游动物在南大洋食物网中发挥着至关重要的作用，对维持生态系统稳定至关重要。调查环南极尺度浮游动物的物种组成和生物多样性，对于确保在气候变化背景下基于生态系统的南大洋保护和管理至关重要。在这里，我们利用 eDNA 宏条形码技术，根据 2021 年至 2022 年两次考察期间采集的样本，评估了南极洲周围表层海水中浮游动物的生物多样性。本文的主要目的是基于新兴的 eDNA 宏条形码工具，提供更多关于环南极浮游动物生物多样性的基线信息。这种综合方法确定了超过 300 种不同的浮游动物物种，形成了一个以水母、软体动物和多毛类动物为主的多样化群落。令人惊讶的是，南大洋中常见的优势分类群，如磷虾和桡足类，在表层海水中的相对丰度（读段）并不高。冗余分析（RDA）和相关分析的结果表明，水温和叶绿素 a 对浮游动物的读段和多样性有最显著的影响。值得注意的是，水温对浮游动物的影响似乎主要是间接的，可能是通过其对初级生产力的影响来介导的。未来，南大洋初级生产力的增加可能导致浮游动物生物多样性降低。这项研究强调了 eDNA 宏条形码作为监测开阔海域浮游动物多样性的有效工具的有效性。鉴于温度、海冰范围的持续变化及其对初级生产力的影响，我们的研究结果为未来利用 eDNA 技术在广泛的海洋生态系统中建立长期生物多样性监测计划奠定了重要基础。
