Allometric scaling of eDNA production in stream‐dwelling brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) inferred from population size structure. Issue 3 (21st October 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Yates, Matthew C.; Wilcox, Taylor M.; McKelvey, Kevin S.; Young, Michael K.; Schwartz, Michael K.; Derry, Alison M.
• Is Part Of: Environmental DNA. Volume 3:Issue 3(2021)
• Page Start: 553
• Page End: 560
• Publication Date: 2020-10-21
• Subjects: abundance -- allometric scaling -- allometry -- biomass -- brook trout -- eDNA -- fishes; DNA -- Periodicals; Biology -- Periodicals; Microbial ecology -- Periodicals; Biology; DNA; Microbial ecology; Electronic journals; Periodicals; 572.86
• DOI: 10.1002/edn3.150
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2637-4943

Abstract

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 mass 0.36 ) best described patterns of eDNA concentration across streams ( r 2 = 0.43). ASM exhibited substantially improved model fit relative to biomass ( r 2 = 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 ( r 2 = 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. Abstract : Using brook trout abundance data, eDNA data, and population size structure data, we infer that eDNA particle production does not scale linearly with individual biomass. Future studies relating eDNA concentration to abundance should account for allometry in eDNA production.