2025/01/16 by Tianjian Song, Fangze Zi, Yuxin Huang +5 · 1 voice
Environmental Science · #Environmental DNA in Biodiversity Studies #Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology #Fish Ecology and Management Studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.3390/w17020246
openalex publication_date 2025/01/16 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22
Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding is a powerful method for monitoring aquatic biodiversity and evaluating ecosystem health. In this study, we applied eDNA metabarcoding and a multi-species biotic integrity index (Mt-IBI), constructed by selecting and screening core metrics to capture key ecological responses, to assess the Irtysh River Basin in Xinjiang, China, analyzing samples from 52 sites. The community structure showed high sensitivity to environmental stressors, with dissolved oxygen (DO), total nitrogen (TN), and elevation being key factors, while alien fish richness negatively impacted ecosystem health. These findings highlight the importance of maintaining environmental parameters and controlling invasive species, demonstrating the potential of the Mt-IBI for early detection of ecological degradation and guiding freshwater conservation.