Comparing Environmental DNA Metabarcoding and Underwater Visual Census to Monitor Korean Coastal Fish Community

Abstract

This study conducted underwater visual census (UVC) and eDNA metabarcoding to survey fish fauna in the coastal waters off Busan (Cheongsapo) and Ulsan (Bangeojin), Southeast sea of Korea, after which the two survey methods were compared. A total of 49 species were identified in Cheongsapo (eDNA metabarcoding: 29 species; UVC: 29 species) and 60 were identified in Bangeojin (eDNA metabarcoding: 43 species; UVC: 30 species), which accounted for 70 species in both areas. Except for 13 species without GenBank sequence data, 80% of the species detected using UVC were detected through eDNA metabarcoding. In addition, eDNA metabarcoding enabled the detection of 33 species that were otherwise not detected by UVC. Thus, eDNA can be used to conduct fast and wide fish diversity surveys and is applicable to microhabitats in coastal areas. Therefore, eDNA could become an important complement to traditional surveys for monitoring marine biodiversity.