Reliable, verifiable, and efficient monitoring of biodiversity via metabarcoding

Yinqiu Ji; Louise Ashton; Scott M. Pedley; David P. Edwards; Yong Tang; Akihiro Nakamura; Roger Kitching; Paul M. Dolman; Paul Woodcock; Felicity A. Edwards; Trond H. Larsen; Wayne W. Hsu; Suzan Benedick; Keith C. Hamer; David S. Wilcove; Catharine Bruce; Xiaoyang Wang; Taal Levi; Martin Lott; Brent C. Emerson; Douglas W. Yu

doi:10.1111/ele.12162

Reliable, verifiable, and efficient monitoring of biodiversity via metabarcoding

Yinqiu Ji, Louise Ashton, Scott M. Pedley, David P. Edwards, Yong Tang, Akihiro Nakamura, Roger Kitching, Paul M. Dolman, Paul Woodcock, Felicity A. Edwards, Trond H. Larsen, Wayne W. Hsu, Suzan Benedick, Keith C. Hamer, David S. Wilcove, Catharine Bruce, Xiaoyang Wang, Taal Levi, Martin Lott, Brent C. EmersonDouglas W. Yu

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

471 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

To manage and conserve biodiversity, one must know what is being lost, where, and why, as well as which remedies are likely to be most effective. Metabarcoding technology can characterise the species compositions of mass samples of eukaryotes or of environmental DNA. Here, we validate metabarcoding by testing it against three high-quality standard data sets that were collected in Malaysia (tropical), China (subtropical) and the United Kingdom (temperate) and that comprised 55,813 arthropod and bird specimens identified to species level with the expenditure of 2,505 person-hours of taxonomic expertise. The metabarcode and standard data sets exhibit statistically correlated alpha- and beta-diversities, and the two data sets produce similar policy conclusions for two conservation applications: restoration ecology and systematic conservation planning. Compared with standard biodiversity data sets, metabarcoded samples are taxonomically more comprehensive, many times quicker to produce, less reliant on taxonomic expertise and auditable by third parties, which is essential for dispute resolution.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1245–1257
Number of pages	13
Journal	Ecology Letters
Volume	16
Issue number	10
Early online date	4 Aug 2013
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.12162
Publication status	Published - Oct 2013

Keywords

Biodiversity
climate change
DNA barcoding
heathland
restoration ecology
surveillance monitoring
systematic conservation planning
targeted monitoring
tropical forest

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1111/ele.12162

471 Citations (Scopus)
2 Article

Multi-taxa trait and functional responses to physical disturbance
Pedley, S. M. & Dolman, P. M., 1 Nov 2014, In: Journal of Animal Ecology. 83, 6, p. 1542-1552 11 p.
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40 Citations (Scopus)

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Physical disturbance enhances ecological networks for heathland biota: A multiple taxa experiment
Pedley, S. M., Franco, A. M. A., Pankhurst, T. & Dolman, P. M., Apr 2013, In: Biological Conservation. 160, p. 173-182 10 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

23 Citations (Scopus)

Cite this

Ji, Y., Ashton, L., Pedley, S. M., Edwards, D. P., Tang, Y., Nakamura, A., Kitching, R., Dolman, P. M., Woodcock, P., Edwards, F. A., Larsen, T. H., Hsu, W. W., Benedick, S., Hamer, K. C., Wilcove, D. S., Bruce, C., Wang, X., Levi, T., Lott, M., ... Yu, D. W. (2013). Reliable, verifiable, and efficient monitoring of biodiversity via metabarcoding. Ecology Letters, 16(10), 1245–1257. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.12162

Ji, Yinqiu ; Ashton, Louise ; Pedley, Scott M. ; Edwards, David P. ; Tang, Yong ; Nakamura, Akihiro ; Kitching, Roger ; Dolman, Paul M. ; Woodcock, Paul ; Edwards, Felicity A. ; Larsen, Trond H. ; Hsu, Wayne W. ; Benedick, Suzan ; Hamer, Keith C. ; Wilcove, David S. ; Bruce, Catharine ; Wang, Xiaoyang ; Levi, Taal ; Lott, Martin ; Emerson, Brent C. ; Yu, Douglas W. / Reliable, verifiable, and efficient monitoring of biodiversity via metabarcoding. In: Ecology Letters. 2013 ; Vol. 16, No. 10. pp. 1245–1257.

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title = "Reliable, verifiable, and efficient monitoring of biodiversity via metabarcoding",

abstract = "To manage and conserve biodiversity, one must know what is being lost, where, and why, as well as which remedies are likely to be most effective. Metabarcoding technology can characterise the species compositions of mass samples of eukaryotes or of environmental DNA. Here, we validate metabarcoding by testing it against three high-quality standard data sets that were collected in Malaysia (tropical), China (subtropical) and the United Kingdom (temperate) and that comprised 55,813 arthropod and bird specimens identified to species level with the expenditure of 2,505 person-hours of taxonomic expertise. The metabarcode and standard data sets exhibit statistically correlated alpha- and beta-diversities, and the two data sets produce similar policy conclusions for two conservation applications: restoration ecology and systematic conservation planning. Compared with standard biodiversity data sets, metabarcoded samples are taxonomically more comprehensive, many times quicker to produce, less reliant on taxonomic expertise and auditable by third parties, which is essential for dispute resolution.",

keywords = "Biodiversity, climate change, DNA barcoding, heathland, restoration ecology, surveillance monitoring, systematic conservation planning, targeted monitoring, tropical forest",

author = "Yinqiu Ji and Louise Ashton and Pedley, {Scott M.} and Edwards, {David P.} and Yong Tang and Akihiro Nakamura and Roger Kitching and Dolman, {Paul M.} and Paul Woodcock and Edwards, {Felicity A.} and Larsen, {Trond H.} and Hsu, {Wayne W.} and Suzan Benedick and Hamer, {Keith C.} and Wilcove, {David S.} and Catharine Bruce and Xiaoyang Wang and Taal Levi and Martin Lott and Emerson, {Brent C.} and Yu, {Douglas W.}",

note = "{\textcopyright} 2013 The Authors. Ecology Letters published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd and CNRS This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. ",

year = "2013",

month = oct,

doi = "10.1111/ele.12162",

language = "English",

volume = "16",

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Ji, Y, Ashton, L, Pedley, SM, Edwards, DP, Tang, Y, Nakamura, A, Kitching, R, Dolman, PM, Woodcock, P, Edwards, FA, Larsen, TH, Hsu, WW, Benedick, S, Hamer, KC, Wilcove, DS, Bruce, C, Wang, X, Levi, T, Lott, M, Emerson, BC & Yu, DW 2013, 'Reliable, verifiable, and efficient monitoring of biodiversity via metabarcoding', Ecology Letters, vol. 16, no. 10, pp. 1245–1257. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.12162

Reliable, verifiable, and efficient monitoring of biodiversity via metabarcoding. / Ji, Yinqiu; Ashton, Louise; Pedley, Scott M.; Edwards, David P.; Tang, Yong; Nakamura, Akihiro; Kitching, Roger; Dolman, Paul M.; Woodcock, Paul; Edwards, Felicity A.; Larsen, Trond H.; Hsu, Wayne W.; Benedick, Suzan; Hamer, Keith C.; Wilcove, David S.; Bruce, Catharine; Wang, Xiaoyang; Levi, Taal; Lott, Martin; Emerson, Brent C.; Yu, Douglas W.

In: Ecology Letters, Vol. 16, No. 10, 10.2013, p. 1245–1257.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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T1 - Reliable, verifiable, and efficient monitoring of biodiversity via metabarcoding

AU - Ji, Yinqiu

AU - Ashton, Louise

AU - Pedley, Scott M.

AU - Edwards, David P.

AU - Tang, Yong

AU - Nakamura, Akihiro

AU - Kitching, Roger

AU - Dolman, Paul M.

AU - Woodcock, Paul

AU - Edwards, Felicity A.

AU - Larsen, Trond H.

AU - Hsu, Wayne W.

AU - Benedick, Suzan

AU - Hamer, Keith C.

AU - Wilcove, David S.

AU - Bruce, Catharine

AU - Wang, Xiaoyang

AU - Levi, Taal

AU - Lott, Martin

AU - Emerson, Brent C.

AU - Yu, Douglas W.

N1 - © 2013 The Authors. Ecology Letters published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd and CNRS This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

PY - 2013/10

Y1 - 2013/10

N2 - To manage and conserve biodiversity, one must know what is being lost, where, and why, as well as which remedies are likely to be most effective. Metabarcoding technology can characterise the species compositions of mass samples of eukaryotes or of environmental DNA. Here, we validate metabarcoding by testing it against three high-quality standard data sets that were collected in Malaysia (tropical), China (subtropical) and the United Kingdom (temperate) and that comprised 55,813 arthropod and bird specimens identified to species level with the expenditure of 2,505 person-hours of taxonomic expertise. The metabarcode and standard data sets exhibit statistically correlated alpha- and beta-diversities, and the two data sets produce similar policy conclusions for two conservation applications: restoration ecology and systematic conservation planning. Compared with standard biodiversity data sets, metabarcoded samples are taxonomically more comprehensive, many times quicker to produce, less reliant on taxonomic expertise and auditable by third parties, which is essential for dispute resolution.

AB - To manage and conserve biodiversity, one must know what is being lost, where, and why, as well as which remedies are likely to be most effective. Metabarcoding technology can characterise the species compositions of mass samples of eukaryotes or of environmental DNA. Here, we validate metabarcoding by testing it against three high-quality standard data sets that were collected in Malaysia (tropical), China (subtropical) and the United Kingdom (temperate) and that comprised 55,813 arthropod and bird specimens identified to species level with the expenditure of 2,505 person-hours of taxonomic expertise. The metabarcode and standard data sets exhibit statistically correlated alpha- and beta-diversities, and the two data sets produce similar policy conclusions for two conservation applications: restoration ecology and systematic conservation planning. Compared with standard biodiversity data sets, metabarcoded samples are taxonomically more comprehensive, many times quicker to produce, less reliant on taxonomic expertise and auditable by third parties, which is essential for dispute resolution.

KW - Biodiversity

KW - climate change

KW - DNA barcoding

KW - heathland

KW - restoration ecology

KW - surveillance monitoring

KW - systematic conservation planning

KW - targeted monitoring

KW - tropical forest

U2 - 10.1111/ele.12162

DO - 10.1111/ele.12162

M3 - Article

VL - 16

SP - 1245

EP - 1257

JO - Ecology Letters

JF - Ecology Letters

SN - 1461-023X

IS - 10

ER -

Reliable, verifiable, and efficient monitoring of biodiversity via metabarcoding

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

Access to Document

Research output

Multi-taxa trait and functional responses to physical disturbance

Physical disturbance enhances ecological networks for heathland biota: A multiple taxa experiment

Cite this