FN Archimer Export Format PT J TI Comparing environmental DNA metabarcoding and underwater visual census to monitor tropical reef fishes BT AF Polanco Fernández, Andrea Marques, Virginie Fopp, Fabian Juhel, Jean‐Baptiste Borrero‐Pérez, Giomar Helena Cheutin, Marie‐Charlotte Dejean, Tony González Corredor, Juan David Acosta‐Chaparro, Andrés Hocdé, Régis Eme, David Maire, Eva Spescha, Manuel Valentini, Alice Manel, Stéphanie Mouillot, David Albouy, Camille Pellissier, Loïc AS 1:1;2:2,3;3:4,5;4:2;5:1;6:2;7:6;8:1;9:1;10:2;11:7;12:2,8;13:4,5;14:6;15:3;16:2;17:7;18:4,5; FF 1:;2:;3:;4:;5:;6:;7:;8:;9:;10:;11:PDG-RBE-EMH;12:;13:;14:;15:;16:;17:PDG-RBE-EMH;18:; C1 Programa de Biodiversidad y Ecosistemas Marinos Museo de Historia Natural Marina de Colombia (MHNMC) Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras‐INVEMAR Santa Marta, Colombia MARBEC CNRS Ifremer IRD University of Montpellier Montpellier, France EPHE CNRS UM, UM3 IRD UMR5175 CEFE PSL Research University Montpellier, France Landscape Ecology Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems Department of Environmental Systems Science ETH Zürich Zürich ,Switzerland Unit of Land Change Science Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL Birmensdorf ,Switzerland SPYGEN Le Bourget‐du‐Lac, France Unité Ecologie et Modèles pour l'Halieutique EMH IFREMER Nantes ,France Lancaster Environment Centre Lancaster University Lancaster, UK C2 MHNMC, COLOMBIA UNIV MONTPELLIER, FRANCE UNIV MONTPELLIER, FRANCE ETH ZURICH, SWITZERLAND SWISS FED RES INST WSL, SWITZERLAND SPYGEN, FRANCE IFREMER, FRANCE UNIV LANCASTER, UK SI NANTES SE PDG-RBE-EMH UM MARBEC IN DOAJ TC 0 UR https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00653/76543/77643.pdf https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00653/76543/77644.docx LA English DT Article DE ;biodiversity;biomonitoring;Caribbean Sea;environmental DNA;reef fishes;underwater visual census AB Environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis is a revolutionary method to monitor marine biodiversity from animal DNA traces. Examining the capacity of eDNA to provide accurate biodiversity measures in species‐rich ecosystems such as coral reefs is a prerequisite for their application in long‐term monitoring. Here, we surveyed two Colombian tropical marine reefs, the island of Providencia and Gayraca Bay near Santa Marta, using eDNA and underwater visual census (UVC) methods. We collected a large quantity of surface water (30 L per filter) above the reefs and applied a metabarcoding protocol using three different primer sets targeting the 12S mitochondrial DNA, which are specific to the vertebrates Actinopterygii and Elasmobranchii. By assigning eDNA sequences to species using a public reference database, we detected the presence of 107 and 85 fish species, 106 and 92 genera, and 73 and 57 families in Providencia and Gayraca Bay, respectively. Of the species identified using eDNA, 32.7% (Providencia) and 18.8% (Gayraca) were also found in the UVCs. We further found congruence in genus and species richness and abundance between eDNA and UVC approaches in Providencia but not in Gayraca Bay. Mismatches between eDNA and UVC had a phylogenetic and ecological signal, with eDNA detecting a broader phylogenetic diversity and more effectively detecting smaller species, pelagic species and those in deeper habitats. Altogether, eDNA can be used for fast and broad biodiversity surveys and is applicable to species‐rich ecosystems in the tropics, but improved coverage of the reference database is required before this new method could serve as an effective complement to traditional census methods. PY 2021 PD JAN SO Environmental DNA SN 2637-4943 PU Wiley VL 3 IS 1 BP 142 EP 156 DI 10.1002/edn3.140 ID 76543 ER EF