Allometric scaling of eDNA production in stream‐dwelling brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) inferred from population size structure

Abstract Environmental DNA (eDNA) concentration exhibits a positive correlation with organism abundance in nature, but modeling this relationship could be substantially improved by incorporating the biology of eDNA production. A recent model (Molecular Ecology, 10.1111/mec.15543) extended models of...

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Main Authors: Matthew C. Yates, Taylor M. Wilcox, Kevin S. McKelvey, Michael K. Young, Michael K. Schwartz, Alison M. Derry
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2021-05-01
Series:Environmental DNA
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/edn3.150
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author Matthew C. Yates
Taylor M. Wilcox
Kevin S. McKelvey
Michael K. Young
Michael K. Schwartz
Alison M. Derry
author_facet Matthew C. Yates
Taylor M. Wilcox
Kevin S. McKelvey
Michael K. Young
Michael K. Schwartz
Alison M. Derry
author_sort Matthew C. Yates
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Environmental DNA (eDNA) concentration exhibits a positive correlation with organism abundance in nature, but modeling this relationship could be substantially improved by incorporating the biology of eDNA production. A recent model (Molecular Ecology, 10.1111/mec.15543) extended models of physiological allometric scaling to eDNA production, hypothesizing that brook trout eDNA production scales nonlinearly with mass as a power function with scaling coefficients <1 in lakes. To validate this hypothesis, we reanalyzed previously published data (Biological Conservation, 10.1016/j.biocon.2015.12.023) that examined the correlation between eDNA concentration and brook trout abundance in streams. We found that allometrically scaled mass (ASM) (e.g., ∑(individual mass0.36) best described patterns of eDNA concentration across streams (r2 = 0.43). ASM exhibited substantially improved model fit relative to biomass (r2 = 0.31, ∆AIC = 5.19), indicating that eDNA production did not scale linearly with biomass. However, the explanatory power of ASM was comparable to density (r2 = 0.40, ∆AIC = 1.25). Additionally, the optimal scaling coefficient estimated from the data (0.36) was substantially lower than that found in the previous study. Discrepancies between datasets could be attributable to ecological differences between study habitats (streams vs. lakes) or due to the exclusion of juveniles (i.e., individuals <75 mm) that can be abundant in stream environments. Nevertheless, this study adds to the growing body of literature demonstrating that individual eDNA production does not scale linearly with biomass.
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spelling doaj.art-832e55708e5944dba7f8b9f0c296eea02022-12-21T22:44:39ZengWileyEnvironmental DNA2637-49432021-05-013355356010.1002/edn3.150Allometric scaling of eDNA production in stream‐dwelling brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) inferred from population size structureMatthew C. Yates0Taylor M. Wilcox1Kevin S. McKelvey2Michael K. Young3Michael K. Schwartz4Alison M. Derry5Université du Québec à Montréal Montréal QC CanadaNational Genomics Center for Wildlife and Fish Conservation Rocky Mountain Research Station Missoula MT USANational Genomics Center for Wildlife and Fish Conservation Rocky Mountain Research Station Missoula MT USANational Genomics Center for Wildlife and Fish Conservation Rocky Mountain Research Station Missoula MT USANational Genomics Center for Wildlife and Fish Conservation Rocky Mountain Research Station Missoula MT USAUniversité du Québec à Montréal Montréal QC CanadaAbstract Environmental DNA (eDNA) concentration exhibits a positive correlation with organism abundance in nature, but modeling this relationship could be substantially improved by incorporating the biology of eDNA production. A recent model (Molecular Ecology, 10.1111/mec.15543) extended models of physiological allometric scaling to eDNA production, hypothesizing that brook trout eDNA production scales nonlinearly with mass as a power function with scaling coefficients <1 in lakes. To validate this hypothesis, we reanalyzed previously published data (Biological Conservation, 10.1016/j.biocon.2015.12.023) that examined the correlation between eDNA concentration and brook trout abundance in streams. We found that allometrically scaled mass (ASM) (e.g., ∑(individual mass0.36) best described patterns of eDNA concentration across streams (r2 = 0.43). ASM exhibited substantially improved model fit relative to biomass (r2 = 0.31, ∆AIC = 5.19), indicating that eDNA production did not scale linearly with biomass. However, the explanatory power of ASM was comparable to density (r2 = 0.40, ∆AIC = 1.25). Additionally, the optimal scaling coefficient estimated from the data (0.36) was substantially lower than that found in the previous study. Discrepancies between datasets could be attributable to ecological differences between study habitats (streams vs. lakes) or due to the exclusion of juveniles (i.e., individuals <75 mm) that can be abundant in stream environments. Nevertheless, this study adds to the growing body of literature demonstrating that individual eDNA production does not scale linearly with biomass.https://doi.org/10.1002/edn3.150abundanceallometric scalingallometrybiomassbrook trouteDNA
spellingShingle Matthew C. Yates
Taylor M. Wilcox
Kevin S. McKelvey
Michael K. Young
Michael K. Schwartz
Alison M. Derry
Allometric scaling of eDNA production in stream‐dwelling brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) inferred from population size structure
Environmental DNA
abundance
allometric scaling
allometry
biomass
brook trout
eDNA
title Allometric scaling of eDNA production in stream‐dwelling brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) inferred from population size structure
title_full Allometric scaling of eDNA production in stream‐dwelling brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) inferred from population size structure
title_fullStr Allometric scaling of eDNA production in stream‐dwelling brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) inferred from population size structure
title_full_unstemmed Allometric scaling of eDNA production in stream‐dwelling brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) inferred from population size structure
title_short Allometric scaling of eDNA production in stream‐dwelling brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) inferred from population size structure
title_sort allometric scaling of edna production in stream dwelling brook trout salvelinus fontinalis inferred from population size structure
topic abundance
allometric scaling
allometry
biomass
brook trout
eDNA
url https://doi.org/10.1002/edn3.150
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