PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Kristy Deiner AU - Emanuel A. Fronhofer AU - Elvira Meächler AU - Jean-Claude Walser AU - Florian Altermatt TI - Environmental DNA reveals that rivers are conveyer belts of biodiversity information AID - 10.1101/020800 DP - 2016 Jan 01 TA - bioRxiv PG - 020800 4099 - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2016/05/27/020800.short 4100 - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2016/05/27/020800.full AB - DNA sampled from the environment (eDNA) is becoming a game changer for uncovering biodiversity patterns. By combining a conceptual model and empirical data, we test whether eDNA transported in river networks can be used as an integrative way to assess eukaryotic biodiversity for broad spatial scales and across the land-water interface. Using an eDNA metabarcode approach we detected 296 families of eukaryotes, spanning 19 phyla across the catchment of a river. We show for a subset of these families that eDNA samples overcome spatial autocorrelation biases associated with classical community assessments by integrating biodiversity information over space. Additionally, we demonstrate that many terrestrial species can be detected; thus revealing that eDNA in river-water also incorporates biodiversity information across terrestrial and aquatic biomes. Environmental DNA transported in river networks offers a novel and spatially integrated way to assess total biodiversity for whole landscapes and will transform biodiversity data acquisition in ecology.“Eventually, all things merge into one, 32 and a river runs through it.” — Norman Maclean