2025 Hyper Recent •CC0 1.0 Universal

This work is dedicated to the public domain. No rights reserved.

Access Preprint From Server
July 5th, 2025
Version: 1
UiT The Arctic University of Norway
ecology
biorxiv

Maximizing vegetation representation of the catchment in sedimentary DNA with targeted cores in small lakes

Ataman, T. G. G.Open in Google Scholar•Lammers, Y.Open in Google Scholar•Alsos, I. G.Open in Google Scholar•Rijal, D. P.Open in Google Scholar•Brown, A. G.Open in Google Scholar

Sedimentary DNA is becoming an invaluable tool for biodiversity assessments across spatial and temporal scales. Accurate interpretation, however, requires a clear understanding of its origin and taphonomy, from transport to preservation processes within lake systems. Insights into these processes are crucial for developing efficient sampling methods for precise ecological monitoring. Our analysis of 42 adjacent surface sediment sample replicates shows that deeper, central samples, with reduced influence from aquatic taxa, exhibit greater taxonomic richness compared to near-shore samples. By comparing these results to systematic vegetation surveys, we demonstrate that central cores are optimal as they capture the main taxonomic richness in the catchment, while marginal samples near inflows are essential for detecting rarer, spatially restricted taxa. This study highlights the potential of central-core sampling to effectively capture vegetation profiles in small, bathymetrically simple lakes, while enhancing the understanding of DNA transport mechanisms in catchments with similar topographic or hydrological characteristics.

Similar Papers

biorxiv
Sun Jul 06 2025
Precursors of Sea Star Wasting: Immune and Microbial Disruption During Initial Disease Outbreak in Southeast Alaska
Sea Star Wasting Disease (SSW) has devastated sea star populations along the North American Pacific coast since 2013, yet the mechanisms of disease progression, particularly in natural environments, remain unclear. Here we integrate transcriptomic and microbial data from wild Pycnopodia helianthoides sampled across sites affected and unaffected by SSW in southeast Alaska during the initial outbrea...
McCracken, A.
•
Roger, A.
•
Saratkar, C.
•
Brusch, S.
...•
Pespeni, M.
biorxiv
Sat Jul 05 2025
Identifying and prioritising conflicts between human and wildlife interests in Great Britain
We reviewed the scientific literature to identify human-wildlife conflicts associated with British terrestrial mammals to summarise their magnitude and, where possible, costs. Conflicts were classified as either economic, health, environmental or social, further divided into 32 subcategories. We applied a Generic Impact Scoring System (GISS), whereby individual conflicts were scored on a scale of ...
Palphramand, K. L.
•
Cowan, D.
•
Warren, D. A.
•
Smith, G. C.
biorxiv
Sat Jul 05 2025
Citizen science suggests decreased diversity of insects in Mexico, a megadiverse country.
An analysis of iNaturalist data on several taxonomic groups of insects in Mexico is presented. I found evidence of a decreasing trend in diversity of species per year, for four families of butterflies, the bumblebees and the dragon and damselflies. I performed the anlayses on several of the Potential Vegetation types of J. Rzedowsky, and explore the role of deforestation and pesticide use on the t...
Soberon, J. L.
biorxiv
Sat Jul 05 2025
ABC for high-dimensional modular models via MCMC samples
Many complex systems are modelled using modular models, where individual sub-models are estimated separately and then combined. While this simplifies inference, it fails to account for interactions between components. A natural solution is to estimate all components jointly, but this is often impractical due to intractable likelihoods. Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC) provides a likelihood-f...
Zhu, Z.
•
Christodoulou, M. D.
•
Steinsaltz, D.
biorxiv
Sat Jul 05 2025
High pathogenicity avian influenza virus transmission is shaped by inter-specific social network structure.
The continued emergence of zoonotic and epizootic diseases among wild animals is a recurrent and often intractable threat to human and animal health, threatening pandemic preparedness 1,2 . Predicting transmission pathways in multi-host systems, like wild birds, where ecological and behavioural diversity interact 3-5, is a particular challenge to surveillance 6-8. As a result, study of disease in ...
Dunning, J.
•
Gamza, A.
•
Firth, J.
•
Ashton-Butt, A.
...•
Ward, A.
biorxiv
Sat Jul 05 2025
Global assessment of interventions for mitigation of amphibian fungal disease is dominated by geoeconomic trends and antifungal success
Globalisation networks--a rapidly expanding factor behind Anthropocene environmental erosion--facilitate the accelerating spread of invasive species and diseases globally. Among wildlife infectious diseases, chytridiomycosis (caused by the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, or Bd) has been widely implicated with the alarming global decline of amphibians--nature\'s most endangered orga...
Goodyear, L. E. B.
•
Concha-Toro, V.
•
Pincheira-Donoso, D.
biorxiv
Sat Jul 05 2025
Identification and performance of environmentally-driven recruitment relationships in state space assessment models
Environmentally-driven recruitment relationships are important for understanding fisheries responses to climate change; however they are difficult to estimate due in part to large variability in the recruitment process. State space models provide a promising way forward in allowing the characterization of multiple sources of stochastic variability. Here we conducted a large simulation-estimation s...
Britten, G.
•
Brooks, E.
•
Miller, T.
biorxiv
Sat Jul 05 2025
Uncovering Fusarium species diversity, distribution and pathogenicity associated with cotton and corn fields in recently expanded cotton-growing areas of the Northern High Plains of Texas
The recent expansion of cotton acreage in the Northern High Plains of Texas has raised concerns about the occurrence of a diverse Fusarium community, particularly Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. vasinfectum race 4, which is favored by cool early-season temperatures that often occur in the region. This study investigated the diversity, distribution, and pathogenicity of Fusarium species associated with c...
Khaliq, I.
•
Anderson, N.
biorxiv
Sat Jul 05 2025
Biomes do not show a clear-cut phylogeny
Shifts between biomes, the broad types of ecosystems, are far less understood than other ecological transitions. In this study, we aimed at identifying a possible and preliminary lineage between terrestrial biomes on Earth by using up-to-date phylogenetic methods. Although a deep statistical power was lacking, we built on expert knowledge a double-entry table filled by a variety of traits characte...
Gaucherel, C.
•
Nous, C.
•
Hely, C.