Unveiling the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve of the Berlengas Archipelago in Portugal as a hotspot of fish species using eDNA metabarcoding and the collaboration of fishing crews
Simões, M.; Costa, C.; da Luz Calado, M.; Vasco-Rodrigues, N.; Campos, M.J.; Leandro, S.M.; Antunes, A. (2025). Unveiling the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve of the Berlengas Archipelago in Portugal as a hotspot of fish species using eDNA metabarcoding and the collaboration of fishing crews. J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 13(1): 60. https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jmse13010060
In: Journal of Marine Science and Engineering. MDPI: Basel. ISSN 2077-1312; e-ISSN 2077-1312, more
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| Keywords |
Biology > Genetics
Fisheries management
Portugal
Amphiprion percula (Lacepède, 1802) [WoRMS]; Gadus morhua Linnaeus, 1758 [WoRMS]; Oreochromis aureus (Steindachner, 1864) [WoRMS]; Salmo salar Linnaeus, 1758 [WoRMS]
Atlantic [Marine Regions]; Portuguese Exclusive Economic Zone [Marine Regions]
Marine/Coastal |
| Author keywords |
environmental DNA; fish diversity; Northeast Atlantic; Portugal: |
| Authors | | Top |
- Simões, M.
- Costa, C.
- da Luz Calado, M.
- Vasco-Rodrigues, N.
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- Campos, M.J.
- Leandro, S.M.
- Antunes, A.
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| Abstract |
Managing fishery resources is crucial to ensure the marine environment continues to provide diverse goods and services. To overcome difficulties of classical methods used for fish stock management, molecular tools have shown potential to address this issue assessing both targeted and non-targeted species. This study aims to evaluate the spatiotemporal diversity of fish using 12S rRNA gene eDNA metabarcoding sequencing in the Berlengas archipelago and compare two seawater eDNA sampling sources: samples collected by fishermen during their activities and those collected by our research team. The results indicated that autumn presented the highest diversity and that the area around Berlenga Island was the richest area, increasing biodiversity across the region. Fisher-collected samples were generally less diverse than those by the research team but detected species typical of deeper and open-ocean habitats, validating this sampling method. Our study also highlighted eDNA’s role in monitoring fish species by detecting unexpected species for the region, such as Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), while cautioning against false positives like orange clownfish (Amphiprion percula) and blue tilapia (Oreochromis aureus). Future optimisation of our eDNA sampling methodology could better refine marine ecosystem dynamics around the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve of the Berlengas Archipelago, Portugal. |
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