Genetic signatures of ecological diversity along an urbanization gradient

摘要: Despite decades of work in environmental science and ecology, estimating human influences on ecosystems remains challenging. This is partly due to complex chains causation among ecosystem elements, exacerbated by the difficulty collecting biological data at sufficient spatial, temporal, taxonomic scales. Here, we demonstrate utility DNA (eDNA) for quantifying associations between land use changes an adjacent ecosystem. We analyze metazoan eDNA sequences from water sampled nearshore marine eelgrass communities assess relationship these ecological degree urbanization surrounding watershed. Counter conventional wisdom, find strongly increasing richness decreasing beta diversity with greater urbanization, similar trends life histories urbanization. also evidence that local (hundreds meters) rather than regional (tens km) Given different survey methods sample components ecosystem, then discuss advantages eDNA-which here detect hundreds taxa simultaneously-as a complement traditional sampling, particularly context broad assessments where exhaustive manual sampling impractical. Genetic are powerful means uncovering human-ecosystem interactions might otherwise remain hidden; nevertheless, no method reveals whole community.