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Evaluating the potential of DNA metabarcoding for ecological status assessment under the Water Framework Directive: A case study on benthic invertebrates from Western Carpathian streams

Abstract

Routine biomonitoring under the Water Framework Directive (WFD) follows a conventional methodology primarily based on the morphological identification of taxa within the five biological quality elements (phytoplankton, phytobenthos, macrozoobenthos, macrophytes and fish). This identification is particularly challenging for macrozoobenthos due to their high taxonomic diversity. Moreover, this approach is time-consuming and resource intensive. Our current study aims to: (i) evaluate the implementation of DNA metabarcoding in long-term monitored sites to assess the effectiveness of three sample types (bulk samples of macrozoobenthos, and eDNA from water and sediments), (ii) evaluate the ecological status of water bodies using metabarcoding data, and (iii) compare ecological metrics values using conventional and molecular approaches. Sampling was conducted at 17 localities in Slovakia, covering eight stream types. DNA metabarcoding detected 30% more species than conventional monitoring performed over 15 years without needing time-intensive sample processing and morphological identification. At the same time, the bulk samples captured more macrozoobenthos taxa than the other sample types. On average, the bulk samples detected 85% of the taxa captured by DNA metabarcoding. The differences in values of ecological metrics obtained within the conventional approach and between the conventional and metabarcoding approaches were relatively small, typically corresponding to differences within one ecological quality class. However, more pronounced differences were observed in non-abundance-based metrics, such as EPT and BMWP, indicating higher sensitivity of species detection with DNA metabarcoding. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of DNA metabarcoding across multiple metrics and highlights its potential to enhance routine biomonitoring.

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Evaluating the potential of DNA metabarcoding for ecological status assessment under the Water Framework Directive: A case study on benthic invertebrates from Western Carpathian streams

Author: Šamulková, Michaela; Beracko, Pavel; Macko, Patrik; Vargovčík, Ondrej; Tuhrinová, Kornélia; Čiamporová-Zaťovičová, Zuzana; Lešťáková, Margita; Mišíková Elexová, Emília; Čiampor Jr, Fedor
Publisher: Zenodo
DOI: 10.3897/mbmg.9.163640
Source: https://zenodo.org/records/17255596/files/MBMG_article_163640.pdf
393
E alua ing he po en ial o DNA me aba coding o ecological
s a us assessmen unde he Wa e F amewo k Di ec i e: A case
s udy on ben hic in e eb a es om Wes e n Ca pa hian s eams
Michaela Šamulko á1,2 , Pa el Be acko2, Pa ik Macko2, Ond ej Va go čík1,2 ,
Ko nélia Tuh ino á1,2 , Zuzana Čiampo o á-Zaťo ičo á1,2 , Ma gi a Lešťáko á3,
Emília Mišíko á Elexo á4, Fedo Čiampo J 1
1 Depa men o Biodi e si y and Ecology, Plan Science and Biodi e si y Cen e, Slo ak Academy o Sciences, Dúb a ská ces a 9, B a isla a 845 23, Slo akia
2 Depa men o Ecology,Facul yo Na u alSciences,ComeniusUni e si yinB a isla a,Ilko ičo a6,B a isla a84215,Slo akia
3 Slo akNa ionalWa e Re e enceLabo a o y,Depa men o Hyd obiologyandMic obiology,Wa e Resea chIns i u e,Náb ežiea m.Gen.L.S obodu4297/5,
B a isla a81249,Slo akia
4 Slo akNa ionalWa e Re e enceLabo a o y,Depa men o Assessmen andAqua icEcosys emsResea ch,Wa e Resea chIns i u e,Náb ežiea m.Gen.L.
S obodu4297/5,B a isla a81249,Slo akia
Co esponding au ho : Pa ik Macko ([email p o ec ed])
Copy igh : © Michaela Šamulko á e al.
This is an open access a icle dis ibu ed unde
e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion
License (A ibu ion 4.0 In e na ional – CC BY 4.0).
Resea ch A icle
Abs ac
Rou ine biomoni o ing unde he Wa e F amewo k Di ec i e (WFD) ollows a con en-
ional me hodology p ima ily based on he mo phological iden i ica ion o axa wi hin he
i e biological quali y elemen s (phy oplank on, phy oben hos, mac ozooben hos, mac-
ophy es and ish). This iden i ica ion is pa icula ly challenging o mac ozooben hos
due o hei high axonomic di e si y. Mo eo e , his app oach is ime-consuming and
esou ce in ensi e. Ou cu en s udy aims o: (i) e alua e he implemen a ion o DNA
me aba coding in long- e m moni o ed si es o assess he e ec i eness o h ee sam-
ple ypes (bulk samples o mac ozooben hos, and eDNA om wa e and sedimen s), (ii)
e alua e he ecological s a us o wa e bodies using me aba coding da a, and (iii) com-
pa e ecological me ics alues using con en ional and molecula app oaches. Sampling
was conduc ed a 17 locali ies in Slo akia, co e ing eigh s eam ypes. DNA me aba -
coding de ec ed 30% mo e species han con en ional moni o ing pe o med o e 15
yea s wi hou needing ime-in ensi e sample p ocessing and mo phological iden i ica-
ion. A he same ime, he bulk samples cap u ed mo e mac ozooben hos axa han he
o he sample ypes. On a e age, he bulk samples de ec ed 85% o he axa cap u ed by
DNA me aba coding. The di e ences in alues o ecological me ics ob ained wi hin he
con en ional app oach and be ween he con en ional and me aba coding app oaches
we e ela i ely small, ypically co esponding o di e ences wi hin one ecological quali y
class. Howe e , mo e p onounced di e ences we e obse ed in non-abundance-based
me ics, such as EPT and BMWP, indica ing highe sensi i i y o species de ec ion wi h
DNA me aba coding. This s udy demons a es he e ec i eness o DNA me aba coding
ac oss mul iple me ics and highligh s i s po en ial o enhance ou ine biomoni o ing.
Key wo ds: Biomoni o ing, bulk samples, eDNA, mo phological app oach, mac ozoo-
ben hos, Slo akia
Academic edi o : Till-Hend ik Mache
Recei ed:
30 June 2025
Accep ed:
20 Augus 2025
Published:
1 Oc obe 2025
Ci a ion: Šamulko á M, Be acko P,
Macko P, Va go čík O, Tuh ino á
K, Čiampo o á-Zaťo ičo á Z,
Lešťáko á M, Mišíko á Elexo á E,
Čiampo J F (2025) E alua ing he
po en ial o DNA me aba coding o
ecological s a us assessmen unde
he Wa e F amewo k Di ec i e: A
case s udy on ben hic in e eb a es
om Wes e n Ca pa hian s eams.
Me aba coding and Me agenomics
9: e163640. h ps://doi.o g/10.3897/
mbmg.9.163640
Me aba coding and Me agenomics 9: 393–419 (2025)
DOI: 10.3897/mbmg.9.163640
394
Me aba coding and Me agenomics 9: 393–419 (2025), DOI: 10.3897/mbmg.9.163640
Michaela Šamulko á e al.: DNA me aba coding s con en ional me hods in ecological s a us assessmen
In oduc ion
The ea lies p o ocols o assessing aqua ic ecosys ems we e de eloped in he
mid-19 h cen u y (Cohn 1853), bu hei p ac ical applica ion only began abou
a hal -cen u y la e (Kolkwi z and Ma sson 1902, 1908, 1909). In he second
hal o he 20 h cen u y, many indices using ben hic mac oin e eb a es we e
in oduced o assess he s uc u al and unc ional in eg i y o su ace wa-
e s (Wiede holm 1980; Sládeček e al. 1981; Sládečko á and Sládeček 1994;
Rosenbe g and Resh 1993; Hawkes 1998), many o which ha e become in e-
g al o na ional s anda ds and legisla ion o assessing wa e quali y ac oss
se e al coun ies (e.g., Ba bou e al. 1992; He ing e al. 2004a, b; O enböck e
al. 2004). Rega ding wa e -quali y assessmen in Eu ope, i culmina ed wi h he
adop ion o he EU Wa e F amewo k Di ec i e (WFD) in 2000, which es ablished
a ha monised amewo k o assess and p e en he de e io a ion o Eu ope’s
i e s, lakes and g oundwa e (Eu opean Commission 2000). This signi ican ly
changed he app oach o Membe S a es and some non-EU coun ies o wa e
esou ces policy by p io i ising ecosys em in eg i y in decision-making.
Today, mo e han 110,000 su ace wa e bodies a e assessed a egula six-
yea in e als in Eu ope, wi h hei quali y exp essed by ecological s a us o po-
en ial, using physico-chemical and hyd o-mo phological pa ame e s and bio-
logical indica o s (Fueyo e al. 2024a; Kaa i and Palonii y 2024). Wi hin hese,
he WFD equi es he es ablishmen o e e ence condi ions o each ype ha
ep esen a s a e wi h minimal o no an h opogenic dis u bance, om which
he assessmen o o he moni o ed wa e bodies is hen de i ed (Jupke e
al. 2022). Among biological indica o s, o biological quali y elemen s (BQEs),
mac ozooben hos is he mos used g oup (Bi k e al. 2012). This is also sup-
po ed by ecen da a om he Eu opean En i onmen Agency’s Wa e base
dashboa d, which shows ha mac ozooben hos is consis en ly moni o ed
ac oss Eu opean su ace wa e bodies (Eu opean En i onmen Agency 2024;
o mo e de ails, see: h ps://wa e .eu opa.eu/ eshwa e / esou ces/me ada-
a/w d-dashboa ds/su ace-wa e s-ecological-s a us). Following mo pholog-
ical iden i ica ion, he species composi ion is used o calcula e indices ha
a e subsequen ly compa ed o e e ence alues de ined o each wa e body
ype. The ecological quali y a io (EQR), de i ed om his p ocess, is e lec -
ed in he ecological s a us class (EQC) 1–5 (Fueyo e al. 2024a). Howe e ,
sampling me hods and he se o me ics used o ecological assessmen
a y conside ably ac oss coun ies, and he choice o me ics can also di e
be ween egions and s eam ypes wi hin he same coun y (Bi k e al. 2012;
Buss e al. 2015; Mako inská e al. 2015, 2021). Fo example, in Slo akia, he
ecological s a us o wa e bodies based on mac ozooben hos is assessed
using a mul ime ic index (MMI) composed o a se o me ics, whose numbe
and selec ion depend on he s eam ype and ca ego ies di ided acco ding
o eco egion (Ca pa hian, Pannonian), ele a ion (up o 200 m, 200–500 m,
500–800 m, abo e 800 m a.s.l.), and ca chmen a ea size (small, medium,
la ge). In his con ex , Slo akia de ines 24 s eam ypes, wi h he se o selec -
ed me ics included in he MMI anging om 6 o 11 me ics (Mako inská e
al. 2015). Despi e i s use, he cu en me hodology is bo h ime- and cos -in-
ensi e, wi h se e al po en ial sho comings, o en ela ed o he p ecise mo -
phological iden i ica ion o o ganisms, which can be a ec ed by pheno ypic
395
Me aba coding and Me agenomics 9: 393–419 (2025), DOI: 10.3897/mbmg.9.163640
Michaela Šamulko á e al.: DNA me aba coding s con en ional me hods in ecological s a us assessmen
plas ici y a di e en de elopmen al s ages o he loss o key mo phological
ea u es in damaged specimens, as well as he inc easingly limi ed a ailabil-
i y o axonomic expe s (Bush e al. 2019; Je de, 2021; Van den Bulcke e
al. 2024; Páll-Ge gely e al. 2024; Elb ech and Leese 2015; Pinna e al. 2024;
Zhang e al. 2023). Mo eo e , in Slo akia, ano he key issue is sub-sampling, in
which only a ac ion o he collec ed sample, ypically a ound 20% (depending
on o ganism densi y) is analysed and subjec o mo phological iden i ica ion
(Mako inská e al. 2015), which can lead o he omission o a e, low-abun-
dance species and unde es ima e he p esen biodi e si y.
Recen ad ancemen s in mac ozooben hos analysis ha e been d i en by
he adop ion o molecula echniques, pa icula ly bulk sample DNA and en-
i onmen al DNA (eDNA) me aba coding, which ha e helped o o e come he
limi a ions o con en ional me hods (Tza es a e al. 2021; Pinna e al. 2024).
These echniques ha e he po en ial o educe cos s and p ocessing ime
(Sepul eda e al. 2020; Zhang e al. 2023), while also acili a ing he iden i i-
ca ion o ju eniles, ea ly ins a s, mechanically damaged indi iduals, o c yp ic
species (Thomsen e al. 2012; Bohmann e al. 2014; Se ana e al. 2019).
Some s udies ha e also highligh ed he po en ial o sample ixa i e om p e-
se ed indi iduals o subsequen iden i ica ion (Zizka e al. 2019; Va go čík
e al. 2024). Me aba coding echniques can con ibu e o he disco e y o new
species (Na di e al. 2020) and may assis in he de ec ion o non-na i e, in a-
si e (Nes e e al. 2020; Sepul eda e al. 2020) and p o ec ed species (Fueyo
e al. 2024b). In pa icula , eDNA me aba coding can enable b oade ecologi-
cal moni o ing ac oss la ge geog aphic a eas, which enhances he e ec i e-
ness o na ional moni o ing p og ams (Poyn z-W igh e al. 2024). Al hough
such moni o ing o e s a mo e comp ehensi e pe spec i e on he ecological
s a us o wa e bodies, i also is no wi hou limi a ions. The pe sis ence o
DNA eleased by o ganisms plays a c ucial ole, while i a ies depending on
he axa and en i onmen al condi ions (Tsu i e al. 2021; Mau isseau e al.
2022). Mo eo e , he empo al and spa ial scale o he eDNA signal emains
di icul o clea ly de ine due o he complex ecology o eDNA, which is in lu-
enced by nume ous biological and en i onmen al ac o s (Ba nes and Tu ne
2016; Mau isseau e al. 2022). eDNA analysis can some imes e eal axa ha
a e no longe p esen a he sampling si e o hose o igina ing om ups eam
loca ions (Fonseca e al. 2023). One o he mos signi ican and ecu ing
limi a ions o using me aba coding app oaches in he moni o ing o wa e s
is he de e mina ion o he species abundance, which is used o calcula -
ing abundance-dependen me ics (e.g., sap obic index, bioecological a ea
index). Some s udies ha e add essed his challenge by ans o ming abun-
dance da a in o p esence/absence da a (Buchne e al. 2019) o using he
numbe o sequences eads as a p oxy o abundance, hough his app oach
emains qui e dispu able (Elb ech e al. 2021; Mache e al. 2021a).
The po en ial o using DNA-based me hods in he assessmen o biologi-
cal quali y elemen s o wa e is conside able. We aimed o e alua e he po-
en ial o DNA me aba coding unde he eal condi ions o long- e m moni-
o ed si es in Slo akia. Speci ically, we se ou o (i) assess he e ec i eness
o DNA me aba coding in de ec ing axonomic di e si y ac oss h ee sam-
ple ypes (bulk samples o mac ozooben hos, and eDNA om wa e and
sedimen s), (ii) compa e he axonomic composi ion ob ained h ough
396
Me aba coding and Me agenomics 9: 393–419 (2025), DOI: 10.3897/mbmg.9.163640
Michaela Šamulko á e al.: DNA me aba coding s con en ional me hods in ecological s a us assessmen
con en ional and molecula me hods, and (iii) e alua e selec ed ecological
me ics and he o e all ecological s a us de i ed om me aba coding da a,
using ead coun s as a p oxy o abundance. We hypo hesized ha DNA me-
aba coding would e eal highe species di e si y han adi ional me hods,
a ec ing some, bu especially abundance-dependen me ics.
Ma e ial and me hods
Da a collec ion
The ma e ial was collec ed a 17 WFD sampling si es in Slo akia in 2022
and 2023 a ele a ions anging om 147 o 905 m a.s.l. (Fig. 1). These lo-
cali ies ep esen 8 di e en s eam ypes de ined in Špo ka e al. (2009).
Me aba coding analyses included samples om wa e , sedimen s, and bulk
samples. Wa e samples we e collec ed along a ans e se ansec co -
e ing he en i e s eam wid h using a s e ile one-li e con aine un il a o al
olume o 10 L was ob ained in a s e ile essel. Wa e was usually aken
om he wa e column (in smalle s eams only om he su ace laye ),
while a oiding dis u bance o bo om sedimen s. F om he collec ed ol-
ume, one-li e o wa e was il e ed using disposable s e ile 50 mL sy inges
h ough a il e holde (Swinnex Fil e Holde , 47 mm) con aining a cellulose
il e wi h a po e size o 0.45 μm. This p ocedu e was epea ed wice a
each si e ( wo eplica es o eDNA wa e samples). Fil e s we e immedia ely
placed in 96% e hanol in he ield and s o ed in a cooling box un il anspo
o he labo a o y, whe e hey we e kep a −25 °C un il u he p ocessing.
Sedimen s we e also collec ed in wo eplica es using s e ile 50 ml Falcon
ubes. Each eplica e was aken om a di e en mic ohabi a ype on he
i e bed: one om a i le (shallow, as - lowing sec ion) and he o he om
a pool (deepe , slowe - lowing sec ion) o he s eam. App oxima ely 25 ml
o sedimen was collec ed pe eplica e, and a e sedimen se ling, excess
wa e was emo ed. The sample was hen supplemen ed wi h 25 ml o 96%
e hanol, ho oughly mixed, and s o ed in a cooling con aine du ing ans-
po o he labo a o y, whe e samples we e kep a -25 °C. Mac ozooben hos
we e collec ed using he kicking me hod by F os e al. (1971), wi h each col-
lec ion las ing abou 15 minu es and encompassing all p esen mic ohab-
i a s. Mac ozooben hos samples we e subjec ed o mul iple decan a ions
o emo e as much ino ganic ma e ial and la ge non- a ge o ganic deb is
(such as lea es, wigs, and b anches) as possible. The cleaned ma e ial,
ee o excess wa e , was placed in o s e ile 1 L con aine s and p ese ed
wi h 96% e hanol. Samples we e kep in a cooling con aine du ing anspo
o he labo a o y and subsequen ly s o ed a −25 °C. All sample ypes we e
p ocessed as soon as possible a e collec ion, wi h he p ocessing ime
ne e exceeding 3 mon hs. All si es we e moni o ed pe iodically using con-
en ional me hods by he Wa e Resea ch Ins i u e (WRI), which implemen s
he Wa e F amewo k Di ec i e in Slo akia (de ails in suppl. ma e ial 1).
The Wa e Resea ch Ins i u e p o ided da a om con en ional me hods
om 2007 o 2022 (de ails in suppl. ma e ial 2). The ma e ial included in-
o ma ion on species composi ion, hei espec i e abundances, calcula -
ed indi idual indices, and an e alua ion o he o e all ecological s a us.
397
Me aba coding and Me agenomics 9: 393–419 (2025), DOI: 10.3897/mbmg.9.163640
Michaela Šamulko á e al.: DNA me aba coding s con en ional me hods in ecological s a us assessmen
These da a we e used o compa e con en ional (CA – con en ional ap-
p oach) and molecula (MA – me aba coding app oach) me hods. Fo de-
ailed in o ma ion on he sampling and p ocessing o con en ional samples,
please e e o He ing e al. (2004b) and Mako inská e al. (2015).
DNA ex ac ion, PCR ampli ica ion and NGS sequencing
Fo eDNA wa e samples, DNA was ex ac ed om he e hanol ixed il e s
ha we e o n and d ied a 50 °C o app oxima ely 3 hou s un il all he
e hanol had comple ely e apo a ed. The ex ac ion and pu i ica ion we e
pe o med using he ReliaP epTM gDNA Tissue Minip ep Sys em (P omega),
ollowing he manu ac u e ’s p o ocols.
Figu e 1. Geog aphical ep esen a ion o p ocessed sampling si es ac oss Slo akia, wi h s eam ypes indica ed by
colou ed ci cles. The map was gene a ed using QGIS e sion 2.18.15. Explana ion o he s eam ypes: P – Pannonian
eco egion, K – Ca pa hians eco egion; 1 - < 200 m a.s.l, 2 - 201–500 m a.s.l, 3 - 501–800 m a.s.l, 4 - > 800 m a.s.l.; M -
small s eams wi h a ea < 100 km2, S – medium wi h a ea 101–1000 km2, V - la ge wi h a ea > 1000 km2.

398
Me aba coding and Me agenomics 9: 393–419 (2025), DOI: 10.3897/mbmg.9.163640
Michaela Šamulko á e al.: DNA me aba coding s con en ional me hods in ecological s a us assessmen
Fo sedimen samples, a combina ion o phospha e bu e and he DNeasy
Blood and Tissue Ki (Qiagen) was used (Tabe le e al. 2012). B ie ly, he sedimen
samples we e d ied om he 96% e hanol ixa i e a 55 °C o 3 hou s. Phospha e
bu e was added o he d ied samples a a 1:1 a io. The samples we e mixed us-
ing a Mul i-Ro a o Mul i Bio RS-24 s i e (Biosan) and cen i uged a 4,000 RPM
o 30 minu es. The esul ing supe na an was il e ed h ough cellulose sy inge
il e s wi h a po e size o 0.45 μm. The il e s we e also d ied a 50 °C o app oxi-
ma ely 1 hou un il all he phospha e bu e had comple ely e apo a ed, and DNA
ex ac ion was pe o med using he Qiagen manu ac u e ´s p o ocol. .
DNA ex ac ion om bulk samples was pe o med on he whole mixed sam-
ples, which included e hanol and pa ially emo ed non- a ge o ganic and in-
o ganic ma e ial ( o 90 minu es), o a oid he ime-consuming indi idual se-
lec ion p ocess. The whole sample was homogenised using a ki chen blende
(Elec olux ESB2500, 3 min). Th ee eplica es o 1 ml o homogenised ma e ial
we e aken om each sample and d ied a 50 °C o app oxima ely 6 hou s un il
all he e hanol had e apo a ed. DNA was hen ex ac ed and pu i ied using he
ReliaP ep gDNA Tissue Minip ep Sys em (P omega) acco ding o he manu ac-
u e ’s p o ocol. The genomic DNA om all samples was s o ed a -25 °C.
Ampli ica ion o he a ge agmen (~420 bp) wi hin he s anda d ba coding
COI ma ke was ca ied ou using a wo-s ep PCR ( o de ails, see Elb ech and
S einke 2019). Fo each isola e, wo PCR eplica es we e always pe o med,
esul ing in a o al o ou PCR eplica es o wa e and sedimen samples,
and six PCR eplica es o bulk samples. The i s ampli ica ion used BF3 and
BR2 p ime s (Elb ech e al. 2019), ollowed by a second ampli ica ion wi h he
same p ime s con aining adap e s and indexes necessa y o sequencing on
he Illumina MiSeq pla o m. A he same ime, each 96-well pla e con ained 10
nega i e con ols andomly dis ibu ed. Fo he de ailed composi ion o eac-
ion mix u es and PCR p og ams, see suppl. ma e ial 3.
The success o he ampli ica ion was es ed using ho izon al elec opho e-
sis on a 1% aga ose gel. The concen a ion o he PCR p oduc was e alua -
ed using he Ca es eam MI Applica ion p og am and compa ed wi h a DNA
s anda d. The de ec ed concen a ions we e used o p epa e pooled lib a ies
con aining app oxima ely equal amoun s o DNA om each sample. These li-
b a ies we e es ed again on a ho izon al 1% gel elec opho esis, and he de-
si ed p oduc s we e excised and pu i ied om he gel using he Wiza d SV Gel
ki and he PCR Clean-Up Sys em (P omega). Based on he concen a ions o
he pu i ied pa ial lib a ies, a inal lib a y o 20 pM, including 5% PhiX, was
p epa ed and analysed on he Illumina MiSeq wi h Reagen Ki 3 (2 × 300 bp)
a he Ins i u e o Chemis y, Slo ak Academy o Sciences, B a isla a, Slo akia.
Da a p ocessing
Bioin o ma ic sequence p ocessing ollowed he pipeline desc ibed in Va go čík
e al. (2024). B ie ly, he aw sequencing eads unde wen demul iplexing, p im-
e imming (Cu adap 4.1, Ma in 2011), me ging (PEAR 0.9.11, Zhang e
al. 2013), de eplica ion, denoising, leng h il e ing, chime a emo al and g eedy
clus e ing o OTUs a a 97% iden i y h eshold (Vsea ch 2.22, Rognes e al.
2016). Besides ha , ansla ion il e ing a e he denoising s ep (me aMATE,
Andúja e al. 2021) and de aul pos -clus e ing cu a ion (LULU 0.1.0, F øsle
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Michaela Šamulko á e al.: DNA me aba coding s con en ional me hods in ecological s a us assessmen
e al. 2017) we e pe o med. Taxonomy was assigned o he esul ing OTUs
ia BOLD (Ra nasingham and Hebe 2007) using BOLDigge 2.1.0 (Buchne
and Leese 2020). Only OTUs wi h > 85% simila i y o hei bes hi we e hen e-
ained, ocusing on he ollowing animal phyla: Annelida, A h opoda, B yozoa,
Cho da a, Cnida ia, Mollusca, Nema omo pha, Po i e a, and Ro i e a.
Da a analyses
Two da ase s we e included in he s a is ical analysis: he i s comp ised he
species composi ion o 57 samples ob ained h ough CA ( he con en ional da a-
se , suppl. ma e ial 4), while he second con ained he species composi ion o
17 samples ob ained ia DNA me aba coding ( he DNA da ase , suppl. ma e i-
al 5). Bo h da ase s we e con e ed in o TaXon ables o u he analysis using
TaxonTableTools 1.5.1 (TTT, Mache e al. 2021b). Wi hin he DNA da ase , PCR
and ex ac ion eplica es we e me ged in TTT. A e me ging he eplica es, OTUs
wi h ewe han 10 eads pe indi idual sample ype we e emo ed. We also com-
pa ed he e ec i eness o a ious me aba coding app oaches (bulk samples,
eDNA om wa e , and sedimen s) using TTT while Venn diag ams, pa allel ca -
ego y analyses, and ead p opo ions we e gene a ed. Venn diag ams we e c e-
a ed using TTT (each con en ional collec ion compa ed wi h a bulk sample) o
compa e he species spec um o he con en ional and DNA da ase s. The DNA
da ase , including only da a om bulk samples, was adjus ed acco ding o he e-
qui emen s o ASTERICS 4.04 (Fu se e al. 2006), whe e a ious me ics we e cal-
cula ed. Abundance da a we e eplaced by ead coun s ob ained h ough Illumina
sequencing. The ead coun s we e summed o species ep esen ed by mul iple
ope a ional axonomic uni s (OTUs) o c yp ic axa, wi h each species ep esen -
ed by a single Linnaean axon. The me ics used o calcula e Ecological Quali y
Ra ios (EQRs) and he o e all ecological s a us we e selec ed based on s eam
ypology, as de ined by Špo ka e al. (2009). Speci ically, eigh s eam ypes and
wel e di e en me ics we e used (Table 1). Howe e , hese me ics a e sco ed
as con inuous (e.g., Numbe o Families, BMWP sco e) o pe cen age sco es (e.g.,
Oligo [%] sco ed axa = 100%; Ga he e s / Collec o s [%] sco ed axa = 100%), and
he e o e hei alues we e i s no malised, scaling hem o a ange om 0 ( ep e-
sen ing bad s a us) o 1 ( ep esen ing he e e ence condi ion). This no malisa ion
acili a ed he in eg a ion o me ic ou comes (pa ial EQR alues) and he com-
pu a ion o a comp ehensi e mul ime ic index (o e all EQR alue; Špo ka e al.
2009) wi h he ollowing ecological classes: high (1) ≥ 0.8, good (2) ≥ 0.6 o < 0.8,
mode a e (3) ≥ 0.4 o < 0.6, poo (4) ≥ 0.2 o < 0.4, and bad (5) < 0.2. These da a
(pa ial and o e all EQR alues) we e hen compa ed o esul s ob ained using CA
( e e ence alues o each s eam ype a e p o ided in suppl. ma e ial 6).
Fo each si e, di e ences in me ic alues we e exp essed wi hin he CA and
CA s. MA compa isons. Fo each me ic, hese di e ences we e compa ed
using he Ma ginal eg ession model (gene alised leas -squa es - GLS es ima-
ion p ocedu e) wi h wo explana o y a iables ( ype o app oach, in e ac ion
be ween ype o app oach and s eam ype) and he se ing o an exchangeable
co ela ion s uc u e wi hin he si e. Due o he e oscedas ici y, all models we e
imp o ed by speci ying uni o m a iance wi hin each s eam ype and di e en
a iances be ween s eam ypes. The ma ginal eg ession models we e made
in R 4.2.1 (R Co e Team 2022), using he “nlme” package (Pinhei o e al. 2024).
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Michaela Šamulko á e al.: DNA me aba coding s con en ional me hods in ecological s a us assessmen
The conco dance in classes o ecological s a us e ealed by MA and CA was
isualised using a hea map plo c ea ed in “plo .ma ix” package (Klinke 2022);
he Spea man ank co ela ion was also calcula ed, bo h in R 4.2.1. When e-
pea ed measu emen s o ecological s a us we e conduc ed a a si e, he mos
equen ly obse ed ecological s a us class (ESC) was used o assess he
coincidence be ween he wo app oaches.
Resul s
Compa a i e species de ec ion using di e en DNA me aba coding
samples
Sequencing o he eDNA om wa e , sedimen s and bulk samples esul ed in
11,713,827 demul iplexing eads om 17 sampling si es. A e quali y il e ing,
he eads we e clus e ed in o 10,447 OTUs. Non a ge and low-simila i y se-
quences (< 85%) accoun ed o 9,615 OTUs. By emo ing nega i e con ols and
non a ge axa (e.g., algae, dia oms, cho da es, and e es ial in e eb a es),
he inal DNA da ase consis ed o 625 OTUs o he eshwa e in e eb a es.
Species names we e assigned o 589 OTUs, ep esen ing 463 species mainly in
classes Insec a (343 spp.) and Cli ella a (58 spp.). The mos species- ich o de s
wi hin Insec a we e Dip e a (151 spp.), T ichop e a (60 spp.), Epheme op e a
(56 spp.), Plecop e a (35 spp.) and Coleop e a (28 spp.). C yp ic di e si-
y, indica ed by assigning mo e han one OTU o a single Linnaean species,
Table 1. The lis o me ics used o calcula e he Mul ime ic Index o eigh di e en s eam ypes ( o an explana ion o
he s eam ypes, see Fig. 1).
Me ic S eam ype
K2M K2S K3M K3S K3V (P2) K4M P1S P1V (M1)
Sap obic indices
Sap obic Index (Zelinka and Ma an) ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
Oligo [%] (sco ed axa = 100%) ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
Bio ic indices
BMWP Sco e ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
Zona ion me ics
Me a hi h al [%] (sco ed axa = 100%) ✘ ✔ ✘ ✔ ✔ ✘ ✔ ✘
Rhi h on Typie Index ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
Index o Biocoeno ic Region ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
P e e ence o low eloci y
Rheoindex (Banning, wi h abundance classes) ✔ ✘ ✔ ✘ ✘ ✔ ✘ ✘
P e e ence o mic ohabi a
Type Aka + Li + Psa [%] (sco ed axa = 100%) ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
Di e si y me ics
Di e si y (Ma gale index) ✘ ✔ ✘ ✔ ✘ ✘ ✔ ✘
EPT axa ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
Numbe o amillies ✘ ✔ ✘ ✔ ✘ ✘ ✔ ✘
Feeding unc ional g oups
Ga he e s/ Collec o s [%] (sco ed axa = 100%) ✘ ✔ ✘ ✔ ✘ ✘ ✔ ✘
Numbe o locali ies 2 3 3 4 1 1 2 1
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Michaela Šamulko á e al.: DNA me aba coding s con en ional me hods in ecological s a us assessmen
was iden i ied in 87 species, wi h he highes numbe eco ded in he amily
Chi onomidae (23 spp. = 51 OTUs). The species wi h he mos OTUs assigned
o hem we e Limnod ilus ho meis e i Clapa ède, 1862 (11 OTUs), Tubi ex u-
bi ex (Mülle , 1774) (9 OTUs), and Gamma us ossa um Koch, 1836 (5 OTUs).
Ac oss all sample ypes (bulk samples, eDNA om wa e and sedimen s),
we iden i ied an a e age o 86 species pe sampling si e, wi h he ewes num-
be o species cap u ed a si e he N033 si e (61 spp.) and he highes a si e
he R017 si e (111 spp.). Bulk samples eme ged as he mos e ec i e me hod
o species de ec ion, as hey cap u ed 66 o 96% (∅ 85.03%) o all species
p esen a he si es (45–99 spp.; Fig. 2). In con as , eDNA om wa e cap u ed
on a e age 61 ewe species (∅ 25 spp. o 29.87%) pe si e ( anging om 6 o
53 species, o 6–55%), while eDNA om sedimen s a e aged 75 ewe species
(∅ 11 spp. o 13.68%) pe si e ( anging om 3 o 23 species, o 3–32%) han
he bulk sampling s a egy. The highes numbe o species eco ded om sedi-
men s was a si e he V011 si e (11 spp.). No ably, he mos signi ican o e lap
was de ec ed be ween bulk samples and eDNA om wa e , a e aging 17 o e -
lapping species ( anging om 1 o 33 spp.; suppl. ma e ial 7).
The de ec ed species spec um comp ised 15 in e eb a e classes, wi h only
6 (Bi al ia, Cli ella a, Copepoda, Hyd ozoa, Insec a, and Malacos aca) eco ded
ac oss all sample ypes (suppl. ma e ial 8). Bulk samples and eDNA om wa e cap-
u ed 11 classes wi h a ying class ep esen a ions, while eDNA om sedimen s
cap u ed 10. A achnida, Gas opoda, and Go dioida we e iden i ied solely om bulk
samples, Phylac olaema a was ound exclusi ely in wa e samples, and Os acoda
appea ed in bo h bulk samples and sedimen s. Addi ionally, eDNA om wa e
and sedimen s cap u ed exclusi ely h ee classes (Bdelloidea, Demospongiae,
Monogonon a). Insec a domina ed nea ly all samples when examining class ep-
esen a ion ela i e o he numbe o eads (suppl. ma e ial 9). Cli ella a we e he
second mos nume ous class, pa icula ly p e alen in sedimen samples.
Con en ional s. DNA me aba coding app oach in biodi e si y
assessmen
F om 2007 o 2022, 57 samples we e p ocessed using CA a he moni o ed
locali ies. The mos equen sampled si es we e M002 (13 imes), P006 (9
imes), V011 (6 imes), and H001 (4 imes). Du ing his pe iod, 319 species
wi hin eigh a ge classes we e iden i ied using mo phological me hods:
Insec a (238 spp.), Cli ella a (33 spp.), Gas opoda (20 spp.), Bi al ia (12 spp.),
Malacos aca (9 spp.), Tu bella ia (6 spp.), and Go dioida (1 sp.). The a e age
numbe o species pe sample was 17, wi h a ange o 7 o 31. The mos spe-
cies- ich locali ies we e he submon ane s eams V420 (2022; 31 species),
P006 (2014; 27 species), H001 (2019; 27 species), and V090 (2018; 25 species).
Compa ing esul s om CA wi h MA (using only bulk samples) showed ha ,
on a e age, 67 species (∅ 71%, anging om 35 o 84 spp.) we e iden i ied ex-
clusi ely h ough bulk samples a all moni o ed si es. An a e age o 21 species
( anging om 12 o 30) we e iden i ied using he CA a he mos equen ly moni-
o ed locali y he Mo a a Ri e (M002), du ing he 13 sampling da es. In con as ,
82 species we e eco ded du ing a single sampling a ha si e using he MA.
Con e sely, a he V420 si e, 45 species we e iden i ied by he MA, while 37 and
41 species we e eco ded in wo samplings using he CA. The species o e lap
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Michaela Šamulko á e al.: DNA me aba coding s con en ional me hods in ecological s a us assessmen
(one pe si e) and 57 con en ional samples collec ed o e 15 yea s (2007–
2022). Howe e , i is impo an o acknowledge he po en ial limi a ions o DNA
me aba coding, such as he occu ence o alse posi i es ha can a i icially
in la e he numbe o OTUs and hus he o e all axon lis . These may a ise
om he p esence o nuclea copies o mi ochond ial genes (NUMTs; Schul z
and Hebe 2022), e o s o inconsis encies in e e ence da abases (including
synonymous species names o misiden i ied sequences; Baena-Beja ano e al.
2023; Šamulko á e al. 2025), and echnical issues du ing sequencing o ampli-
ica ion ( o synopsis, see Fueyo 2024c). Many o hese p oblems cu en ly lack
de ini i e solu ions, bu in ou s udy, we a emp ed o mi iga e some o hese
issues by building local e e ence da abases (AquaBOL.SK), ca e ully e i ying
he ob ained species spec um agains eshwa e in e eb a e checklis s o
Slo akia (Špo ka e al. 2003) and il e ing ou all OTUs wi h ewe han 10 eads.
Building on his, when compa ing he species spec um cap u ed in a single
DNA me aba coding sample o a single mo phology-based sample using he
CA, he esul s consis en ly show ha DNA me aba coding de ec s mo e spe-
cies, ega dless o s eam ype o yea o sampling. Fo example, a si e M002
(Mo a a Ri e ), 13 samples we e collec ed using he CA, wi h 12 o 30 spe-
cies iden i ied pe sample, while a single DNA me aba coding sample eco ded
up o 82 species. Howe e , he mos ele an example is si e S014 (Rima a
Ri e ), which was sampled simul aneously, and he di e ence be ween bo h
app oaches was up o 37 species in a ou o DNA me aba coding. I is also im-
po an o no e ha he signi ican inc ease in he numbe o eco ded species
by he MA was likely due o he non-a endance o he “subsampling” app oach
and he analysis o he en i e collec ed ma e ial.
Despi e i s b oade species co e age, DNA me aba coding was less e ec-
i e in iden i ying ce ain g oups, such as Gas opoda and Bi al ia, consis-
en ly wi h o he s udies (e.g., Van den Bulcke e al. 2024). On he o he hand,
DNA me aba coding can mo e clea ly dis inguish ep esen a i es o he o de
Dip e a (Bee man e al. 2018; Mache e al. 2025), which is pa icula ly chal-
lenging o p ecise mo phological iden i ica ion. In his s udy, he numbe o
Dip e a species cap u ed by DNA me aba coding was mo e han double ha o
mo pho- axonomy, and his end was also con i med in o he o de s, such as
Epheme op e a, Coleop e a, Tubi icida, and Enchy aeida.
Pe haps he mos su p ising inding ac oss se e al s udies is he ela i ely
low axonomic o e lap be ween he wo app oaches (CA s MA). Fo example,
Mache e al. (2025) epo ed only 26.5% o e lap (sha ed axa), Vasselon e
al. (2017) ound 13% o e lap o dia om species, Van den Bulcke e al. (2024)
epo ed 34%, and Dua e e al. (2023) ound 23% o e lap o ma ine ben hic
in e eb a es. We also examined he o e lap be ween hese me hods a h ee
speci ic axonomic le els ( amily, genus, and species), e ealing a clea de-
c ease wi h dec easing axonomic ank (69% o e lap a he amily le el, 52% a
he genus le el, and only 33% a he species le el). Con e sely, he numbe o
axa eco ded exclusi ely h ough DNA me aba coding inc eased wi h dec eas-
ing axonomic ank (10% a he amily le el, 24% a he genus le el, and 40% a
he species le el), e lec ing limi a ions o mo phological iden i ica ion (Haase
e al. 2006; Gleason e al. 2020). Howe e , i is impo an o no e ha he incom-
ple eness o e e ence da abases can also signi ican ly in luence hese esul s
(Vasselon e al. 2017), po en ially leading o changes in he numbe o sha ed

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Michaela Šamulko á e al.: DNA me aba coding s con en ional me hods in ecological s a us assessmen
axa, ei he dec easing o inc easing. Addi ionally, a ia ion in oduced by he
sampling p ocess i sel can a ec hese indings. Due o limi ed eplica es in
ou s udy, we could no di ec ly compa e sampling a iabili y be ween CA and
MA, bu p e ious s udies ha e documen ed conside able a iabili y in adi ion-
al sampling (Ramos-Me chan e and P enda, 2017; Seidel e al. 2022), which
should be aken in o accoun when in e p e ing o e lap pe cen ages.
The pe spec i e o DNA me aba coding da a in Mul ime ic Index
calcula ion and ecological quali y assessmen
Imp o ing biodi e si y assessmen and moni o ing is p obably he key eason
o e o s o apply DNA me hods in hese p ocesses. Howe e , in e alua ing
wa e bodies, one o he signi ican challenges o me aba coding is o p o ide
eliable abundance da a, which is essen ial o abundance-dependen me ics
(Elb ech and Leese 2015; Pinol e al. 2015).
Essen ially, he only solu ion is o use he numbe o eads gene a ed by NGS
sequencing as a p oxy o abundance. Al hough his app oach is o en con-
side ed con o e sial due o biases in oduced by PCR ampli ica ion o p im-
e speci ici y (Doi e al. 2017; K ehenwinkel e al. 2017; Shel on e al. 2023);
howe e , i could s ill p o ide usable in o ma ion. The numbe o eads has i s
limi a ions, e.g., i does no dis inguish he li e s ages o o ganisms, which may
be c ucial in speci ic cases. Ou esul s sugges ha despi e he s ochas ici y
o he p ocesses, ead numbe s may be usable. Mo eo e , such posi i e co -
ela ion be ween he numbe o eads and he species abundance has al eady
been demons a ed in se e al s udies (e.g., Deagle e al. 2019; Di Mu i e al.
2020; Salis e al. 2024). Ano he possible solu ion is o ans o m p esence/
absence da a o abundance (1/0) da a as in Buchne e al. (2019), who showed
ha EQC class emained unchanged in 76.6% o cases, dec eased by one class
in 12%, and imp o ed by one class in 11.2%. Howe e , since his app oach can
signi ican ly dis o he ac ual si ua ion, we decided o gi e a chance o he
numbe o eads and analyse hei abili y o e lec he abundance o he spe-
cies p esen . We hypo hesised ha abundance-dependen me ics would show
signi ican ly di e en alues han hose ob ained using con en ional me hod-
ologies, bu he compa ison a he me hod le el (con en ional s. con en ional,
con en ional s. me aba coding) was encou aging in ha (i) no o low change
in EQC occu ed o abundance-dependen me ics (e.g., Sap obic Index, Index
o Biocoeno ic Region), (ii) signi ican change was obse ed in some cases
by up o 3 EQC o abundance-independen me ics (e.g., EPT axa, Numbe
o Families and BMWP Sco e) and (iii) signi ican di e ences be ween indi id-
ual s eam ypes we e demons a ed only o Di e si y (Ma gale Index) and
Rheoindex. Ou es ing suppo ed he assump ion ha ead coun s can po en-
ially eplace classical abundance da a. S ill, hei use needs o be es ed in
mo e de ail, and he use o some me ics in ecological s a us assessmen will
need o be econside ed. I seems ha me ics based on p esence/absence
da a (e.g., BMWP Sco e, EPT Taxa, Numbe o Families) a e mo e p oblema ic
because hey ha e demons a ed signi ican di e ences be ween CA and MA.
Simila indings we e also epo ed by Mú ia e al. (2024), whe e he applica-
ion o me aba coding da a om bulk samples o he IBMWP index (Ibe ian
Biological Moni o ing Wo king Pa y index) led o an imp o emen in EQC a
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Me aba coding and Me agenomics 9: 393–419 (2025), DOI: 10.3897/mbmg.9.163640
Michaela Šamulko á e al.: DNA me aba coding s con en ional me hods in ecological s a us assessmen
wo o he i e s udied si es. A he emaining h ee si es, he EQC emained
unchanged, and he index alue de i ed om he MA was lowe han ha om
he CA a only one si e. In ano he s udy om Spain pe o med by Fueyo e al.
(2024b), i was demons a ed ha molecula me hods (bulk and eDNA om
wa e ) showed co ela ions wi h mo phological iden i ica ion o EQR alues o
he IBMWP index. Howe e , di e ences we e obse ed in he es ima ed ecolog-
ical s a us o he i e s, wi h bulk samples ending o indica e a highe s a us.
Addi ionally, a ecen comp ehensi e s udy om Ge many (Mache e al. 2025),
which included a wide ange o indices, con i med ha applying me aba cod-
ing da a imp o ed he EQC a nea ly one- hi d o he su eyed si es. Howe e , in
mos cases, he EQC emained unchanged, u he highligh ing he high po en-
ial o DNA me aba coding o ou ine moni o ing.
We can expec e en mo e signi ican di e ences i e e ence ba code da a-
bases, such as BOLD, con inue o imp o e species co e age. This was suppo -
ed by Fueyo e al. (2024a), who also epo ed an imp o emen in he ecological
quali y class based on he non-abundance me ic (IBMWP) in 16% o samples
a e inco po a ing hei newly ob ained sequences in o he BOLD da abase.
Thei s udy highligh s he impo ance o con ibu ing o and de eloping egion-
al e e ence da abases, which can enhance he de ec ion and iden i ica ion o
no el axa, he eby imp o ing he accu acy o ecological s a us assessmen s
de i ed om me aba coding da a. I is wo h men ioning ha , especially in
Cen al Eu ope, ba code e e ence da abases ha e ecen ly been signi ican ly
imp o ed (Mo iniè e e al. 2017; Macko e al. 2024; Vua az e al. 2024), which
may ha e in luenced ou esul s. Con e sely, signi ican gaps in hese da a-
bases s ill emain (e.g. Csabai e al. 2023). Finally, ou knowledge o he ue
di e si y o insec s, e en in a “well-s udied” egion such as Eu ope, emains lim-
i ed, as demons a ed e.g. by he me aba coding s udy o Buchne e al. (2024).
Recen s udies epea edly highligh he need o build egional e e ence da a-
bases, which ul ima ely play he mos c ucial ole in he b oade in eg a ion o
DNA me aba coding in o biomoni o ing. On he o he hand, despi e he gaps in
he da abases, ou esul s, along wi h hose o simila me aba coding s udies
(Mú ia e al. 2024; Mache e al. 2025), demons a e ha he assessmen o
he ecological s a us o eshwa e ecosys ems using he me aba coding ap-
p oach is as e and can be mo e e icien han he con en ional me hodology
used so a .
Rega ding obse ed imp o emen s in ecological s a us wi hin his s udy, his
could be a ma e o he e e ence alues. They a e essen ial o calcula ing
indi idual me ics bu o iginally we e de e mined based on CA. Implemen ing
DNA me aba coding in o ou ine biomoni o ing will likely equi e hei e-e al-
ua ion, which could signi ican ly educe disc epancies in he esul ing assess-
men s be ween he wo app oaches.
Conclusion
Assessing he ecological s a us o aqua ic ecosys ems is essen ial o hei
conse a ion, es o a ion, and sus ainable managemen . Cu en p ac ices un-
de line he u gen need o inno a i e app oaches o make his ime-in ensi e
and cos ly p ocess mo e e icien . Ou s udy con i ms he po en ial and easi-
bili y o using DNA me aba coding o ou ine moni o ing wi hin he con ex
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Michaela Šamulko á e al.: DNA me aba coding s con en ional me hods in ecological s a us assessmen
o WFD implemen a ion. Among he h ee sample ypes es ed (eDNA om
wa e , sedimen , and bulk samples), he bulk samples de ec ed he mos com-
p ehensi e species spec um. Howe e , we ecommend inco po a ing eDNA
om wa e and sedimen in o moni o ing p og ams, as hese sample ypes e-
eal unique componen s o species composi ion no cap u ed by bulk samples.
DNA me aba coding demons a es clea ad an ages in e ms o e iciency and
comp ehensi eness, especially in de ec ing axonomically challenging g oups
such as Dip e a and Cli ella a.
The analysis o indi idual me ics shows ha using he numbe o eads as a
p oxy o abundance can yield esul s compa able o con en ional me hods o
abundance-dependen me ics. Howe e , me ics elian on p esence/absence
da a, such as BMWP sco es o EPT axa, e ealed signi ican di e ences due o
DNA me aba coding’s enhanced species de ec ion capabili ies. This highligh s
he need o calib a e such me ics o align wi h he b oade de ec ion ange o
his me hod. Fu he mo e, expanding and e ining e e ence da abases emains
essen ial, as his would likely enhance he de ec ion o e en mo e species and
imp o e ecological assessmen s. Despi e cu en challenges, ou indings sug-
ges ha DNA me aba coding is al eady a iable al e na i e o con en ional ap-
p oaches in ou ine biomoni o ing. Di e ences in he es ima ion o ecological
s a e classes could hope ully be esol ed by e ising he h esholds ha a e
conside ed in he in e p e a ion o he me ic alues bu ha e been se based
on and o da a om con en ional p ocedu es. Wi h inc easing en i onmen al
p essu es on eshwa e ecosys ems, he adop ion o his inno a i e me hod
has he po en ial o signi ican ly imp o e biodi e si y assessmen a es. This,
in u n, could acili a e mo e e ec i e conse a ion and managemen p ac ic-
es, suppo ing he objec i es o he WFD and con ibu ing o he sus ainable
managemen o aqua ic ecosys ems. Howe e , as acknowledged by p e ious
s udies, including ou own, u he esea ch is needed o add ess he known
limi a ions and challenges o hese echniques.
Acknowledgemen s
The au ho s would like o hank D . Má ia Šedi á a he Chemical Ins i u e o
Slo ak Academy o Science o he coope a ion in NGS sequencing.
Addi ional in o ma ion
Con lic o in e es
The au ho s ha e decla ed ha no compe ing in e es s exis .
E hical s a emen
No e hical s a emen was epo ed.
Use o AI
No use o AI was epo ed.
Funding
This wo k was inancially suppo ed by he Slo ak Na ional G an Agency (VEGA),
p ojec no. 2/0084/21 and 1/0170/25.
412
Me aba coding and Me agenomics 9: 393–419 (2025), DOI: 10.3897/mbmg.9.163640
Michaela Šamulko á e al.: DNA me aba coding s con en ional me hods in ecological s a us assessmen
Au ho con ibu ions
Concep ualiza ion: MŠ, PM, FČ. Da a cu a ion: MŠ. Resou ces: MŠ, PM, EME, ML. Fo mal
analysis: PB. Me hodology: MŠ, PM, OV, KT. P ojec adminis a ion: ZČZ. Supe ision:
FČ. Valida ion: FČ. Visualisa ion: MŠ, PB, PM. W i ing – o iginal d a : MŠ, PB, PM, FČ.
W i ing – e iew and edi ing: OV, KT, ZČZ, ML, EME.
Au ho ORCIDs
Michaela Šamulko á h ps://o cid.o g/0009-0000-9599-5255
Pa el Be acko h ps://o cid.o g/0000-0001-7680-0854
Pa ik Macko h ps://o cid.o g/0009-0008-0714-7490
Ond ej Va go čík h ps://o cid.o g/0009-0007-7728-8566
Ko nélia Tuh ino á h ps://o cid.o g/0009-0007-2315-3826
Zuzana Čiampo o á-Zaťo ičo á h ps://o cid.o g/0000-0003-0506-6212
Ma gi a Lešťáko á h ps://o cid.o g/0009-0000-9415-1245
Emília Mišíko á Elexo á h ps://o cid.o g/0009-0005-5659-0163
Fedo Čiampo J h ps://o cid.o g/0000-0001-6269-3592
Da a a ailabili y
Addi ional da a a e in supplemen a y ma e ials on FigSha e (h ps:// igsha e.com/) un-
de h ps://doi.o g/10.6084/m9. igsha e.29269859 o a ailable on eques .
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