eDNA metabarcoding provides scalable and continuous biodiversity monitoring across the tree of life [* Cross-Reference *]

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Till‐Hendrik Macher; Robin Schütz; Jens Arle; Arne J. Beermann; Peter Haase; Jan Koschorreck; Henrik Krehenwinkel; Demetrio Mora; James S. Sinclair; Jonas Zimmermann; Florian Leese, 2026, "eDNA metabarcoding provides scalable and continuous biodiversity monitoring across the tree of life [* Cross-Reference *]", https://lore.list.lu/citation?persistentId=perma:LIST.LI1DI1, LIST Open Repository, V1

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Description	Abstract Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding has the potential to substantially expand our knowledge of global biodiversity beyond that provided by conventional approaches. However, the degree to which eDNA data provides real ecological insight, rather than primarily reflecting environmental factors that affect eDNA shedding and degradation, remains unclear. Additional uncertainties arise in terms of cost-effectiveness and whether the price is worth any extra biodiversity information that is gleaned. Here, we established a high-resolution, bi-weekly eDNA time-series in Germany across aquatic and riparian habitats to quantify seasonal biodiversity dynamics, to relate eDNA to different potential environmental drivers, and to parametrize cost estimates. Over one year, eDNA metabarcoding detected more than 1,000 species across multiple trophic levels and primarily revealed real, taxon-specific seasonal patterns, in addition to some relationships to water temperature, discharge, and conductivity. Compared to historical records dating back to 1891, year-round eDNA monitoring increased reported species numbers by 2.4-fold for invertebrates, 2.2-fold for mammals, 1.7-fold for diatoms, 1.2-fold for fish and lamprey, and 1.03-fold for birds. Cumulative biodiversity estimates increased strongly with sampling frequency, demonstrating the value of eDNA for high-frequency time-series monitoring. Moreover, eDNA monitoring was highly cost-effective, providing more than twice the biodiversity information of many conventional surveys for one-sixth the cost, enabling scalable, high-resolution freshwater biodiversity assessments. (2026-02-14) *This entry has been automatically imported via OpenAlex by LIST harvest scripts. Please refer to https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.02.12.705487 for the original and latest version of the publication* (2026-07-01)
Subject	Chemistry; Earth and Environmental Sciences; Medicine, Health and Life Sciences; Physics
Keyword	Biodiversity, Environmental DNA, Riparian zone, Trophic level, Habitat, Global biodiversity, Species richness, Environmental monitoring
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Persistent Identifier	perma:LIST.LI1DI1
Publication Date	2026-07-06
Title	eDNA metabarcoding provides scalable and continuous biodiversity monitoring across the tree of life [* Cross-Reference *]
Other Identifier	https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.02.12.705487 OpenAlex ID: https://openalex.org/W7128910706
Author	Till‐Hendrik Macher (University of Duisburg-Essen, Universität Trier) - ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6164-9557 Robin Schütz (University of Duisburg-Essen) Jens Arle (German Environment Agency) Arne J. Beermann (University of Duisburg-Essen) - ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0403-0322 Peter Haase (Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt/M, University of Duisburg-Essen) Jan Koschorreck (German Environment Agency) Henrik Krehenwinkel (Universität Trier) Demetrio Mora (Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin, Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology) - ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3866-0488 James S. Sinclair (Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt/M) - ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0787-7342 Jonas Zimmermann (Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin) - ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0522-0569 Florian Leese (University of Duisburg-Essen)
Point of Contact	Use email button above to contact. LIST QDKM (LIST)
Description	Abstract Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding has the potential to substantially expand our knowledge of global biodiversity beyond that provided by conventional approaches. However, the degree to which eDNA data provides real ecological insight, rather than primarily reflecting environmental factors that affect eDNA shedding and degradation, remains unclear. Additional uncertainties arise in terms of cost-effectiveness and whether the price is worth any extra biodiversity information that is gleaned. Here, we established a high-resolution, bi-weekly eDNA time-series in Germany across aquatic and riparian habitats to quantify seasonal biodiversity dynamics, to relate eDNA to different potential environmental drivers, and to parametrize cost estimates. Over one year, eDNA metabarcoding detected more than 1,000 species across multiple trophic levels and primarily revealed real, taxon-specific seasonal patterns, in addition to some relationships to water temperature, discharge, and conductivity. Compared to historical records dating back to 1891, year-round eDNA monitoring increased reported species numbers by 2.4-fold for invertebrates, 2.2-fold for mammals, 1.7-fold for diatoms, 1.2-fold for fish and lamprey, and 1.03-fold for birds. Cumulative biodiversity estimates increased strongly with sampling frequency, demonstrating the value of eDNA for high-frequency time-series monitoring. Moreover, eDNA monitoring was highly cost-effective, providing more than twice the biodiversity information of many conventional surveys for one-sixth the cost, enabling scalable, high-resolution freshwater biodiversity assessments. (2026-02-14) *This entry has been automatically imported via OpenAlex by LIST harvest scripts. Please refer to https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.02.12.705487 for the original and latest version of the publication* (2026-07-01)
Subject	Chemistry; Earth and Environmental Sciences; Medicine, Health and Life Sciences; Physics
Keyword	Biodiversity Environmental DNA Riparian zone Trophic level Habitat Global biodiversity Species richness Environmental monitoring
Topic Classification	Environmental DNA in Biodiversity Studies Protist diversity and phylogeny Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies
Deposit Date	2026-02-14
Data Type	Preprint
Data Source	bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)

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