Project description:The difficulty of censusing marine animal populations hampers effective ocean management. Analyzing water for DNA traces shed by organisms may aid assessment. Here we tested aquatic environmental DNA (eDNA) as an indicator of fish presence in the lower Hudson River estuary. A checklist of local marine fish and their relative abundance was prepared by compiling 12 traditional surveys conducted between 1988-2015. To improve eDNA identification success, 31 specimens representing 18 marine fish species were sequenced for two mitochondrial gene regions, boosting coverage of the 12S eDNA target sequence to 80% of local taxa. We collected 76 one-liter shoreline surface water samples at two contrasting estuary locations over six months beginning in January 2016. eDNA was amplified with vertebrate-specific 12S primers. Bioinformatic analysis of amplified DNA, using a reference library of GenBank and our newly generated 12S sequences, detected most (81%) locally abundant or common species and relatively few (23%) uncommon taxa, and corresponded to seasonal presence and habitat preference as determined by traditional surveys. Approximately 2% of fish reads were commonly consumed species that are rare or absent in local waters, consistent with wastewater input. Freshwater species were rarely detected despite Hudson River inflow. These results support further exploration and suggest eDNA will facilitate fine-scale geographic and temporal mapping of marine fish populations at relatively low cost.

| S-EPMC5389620 | biostudies-literature

Habitat preference and diversification rates in a speciose lineage of diving beetles

Project description:Habitat preference and diversification rates in a speciose lineage of diving beetles

| PRJEB36931 | ENA

BACTERIAL METAGENOME OF GRAPEVINE HABITAT

Project description:BACTERIAL METAGENOME OF GRAPEVINE HABITAT

| PRJNA857518 | ENA

Midge larval habitat soil

Project description:Midge larval habitat soil Raw sequence reads

| PRJNA862140 | ENA

Submerged Analog Habitat Environment

Project description:Submerged Analog Habitat Environment Raw sequence reads

| PRJNA639658 | ENA

Evidence of natal habitat preference induction within one habitat type.

Project description:Natal habitat preference induction (NHPI) is a mechanism for habitat selection by individuals during natal dispersal. NHPI occurs in wild animal populations, and evidence suggests it may be a common, although little studied, mechanism for post-dispersal habitat selection. Most tests of NHPI examine the influence of distinct, contrasting natal habitat types on post-dispersal habitat selection. We test the hypothesis that NHPI can occur within a single habitat type, an important consideration for habitat specialists. The Mount Graham red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus grahamensis) is an endangered forest obligate restricted to a single mountain primarily within mixed-conifer forest. We test for NHPI by comparing intra-individual differences in natal and settlement habitat structure and composition to expected random pairwise differences. Dispersing juveniles appear to select settlement locations that are more similar to natal areas than expected in several forest structure and composition variables that include canopy cover and live basal area. Our results provide support for NHPI as a mechanism for post-dispersal habitat selection in habitat specialists that occupy a single vegetation community type.

| S-EPMC5124104 | biostudies-literature

Habitat diversity and multifunctionality

Project description:Habitat diversity and ecosystem multifunctionality - the importance of direct and indirect effects

| PRJEB17981 | ENA