Comparison of materials for rapid passive collection of environmental DNA.

Passive collection is an emerging sampling method for environmental DNA (eDNA) in aquatic systems. Passive eDNA collection is inexpensive and efficient, and requires minimal equipment, making it suited to high-density sampling and remote deployment. Here, we compare the effectiveness of nine membrane materials for passively collecting fish eDNA from a 3-million-litre marine mesocosm.

Passive eDNA collection enhances aquatic biodiversity analysis.

Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding is a sensitive and widely used approach for species detection and biodiversity assessment. The most common eDNA collection method in aquatic systems is actively filtering water through a membrane, which is time consuming and requires specialized equipment. Ecological studies investigating species abundance or distribution often require more samples than can be practically collected with current filtration methods.