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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Front. Ecol. Evol.
Sec. Population, Community, and Ecosystem Dynamics
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fevo.2025.1504666

Metazoan Diversity in Chilean Hypersaline Lakes Unveiled by Environmental DNA

Provisionally accepted
Mattia Saccò Mattia Saccò 1,2*Matthew Arthur Campbell Matthew Arthur Campbell 3Pablo Manuel Aguilar Espinosa Pablo Manuel Aguilar Espinosa 4,5,6Gonzalo Salazar Gonzalo Salazar 6,7Tina Berry Tina Berry 3,8Matthew J Heydenrych Matthew J Heydenrych 9Angus Lawrie Angus Lawrie 3Nicole White Nicole White 2Chris Harrod Chris Harrod 6,7Morten Allentoft Morten Allentoft 10,3
  • 1 Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma, Parma, Italy, Parma, Italy
  • 2 Subterranean Research and Groundwater Ecology (SuRGE) Group, Trace and Environmental DNA (TrEnD) Lab, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia, Perth, Australia
  • 3 Trace and Environmental DNA (TrEnD) Laboratory, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia
  • 4 Laboratorio de Complejidad Microbiana, Instituto Antofagasta and Centro de Bioingeniería y Biotecnología (CeBiB), Universidad de Antofagasta, Antofagasta, Chile, Antofagasta, Chile
  • 5 Departamento de Biotecnología, Facultad de Ciencias del Mar y Recursos Biológicos, Universidad de Antofagasta, Antofagasta, Chile, Antofagasta, Chile
  • 6 Millennium Nucleus of Austral Invasive Salmonids - INVASAL, Concepción, Chile, Concepción, Chile
  • 7 Instituto de Ciencias Naturales Alexander von Humboldt, Universidad de Antofagasta, Antofagasta, Chile
  • 8 eDNA Frontiers, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia, Perth, Australia
  • 9 School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
  • 10 Lundbeck Foundation GeoGenetics Centre, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Saline and hypersaline wetlands are biodiversity hotspots for metazoans such as aquatic invertebrates and wading birds. However, the survival of these habitats and their biota is increasingly threatened by a combination of pressures from climate change and extractive processes. With the goal of improving conservation efforts in hypersaline ecosystems, this study tests the use of eDNA methods for metazoan biomonitoring. We employed a multi-assay approach utilising three genetic markers-12S rRNA, 18S rRNA, and COI -to analyze biodiversity in sediment and water. Samples were collected from three hypersaline lakes in Northern Chile: Salar de Atacama (Laguna Puilar), Salar de Pujsa, and Salar de Tara. eDNA outputs were also compared with results generated from aquatic macroinvertebrate assessments using kick-nets. Our eDNA analyses revealed a total of 21 and 22 taxa across the three hypersaline lakes in sediment and water, respectively. The highest diversity was found in Salar de Tara (15 taxa within sediment and 13 taxa from water). Our multi-assay design detected a range of resident hypersaline taxa with different conservation status, spanning from rotifers to endangered snails, to amphipods and flamingos. Macroinvertebrate data via kick-net surveys further validated Salar de Tara as the most biodiverse system. Compared to net-based assessments, eDNA analysis allowed more refined taxonomic assignments for copepods and ostracods, while certain taxa such as Ephydridae or Hirudinea were not detected through molecular tests. Overall, this study provides evidence that eDNA is an effective tool to elucidate fine scale taxa assemblages and can refine conservation efforts in hypersaline lakes.

    Keywords: eDNA, Hypersaline wetlands, Metazoan biomonitoring, Biodiversity, conservation

    Received: 01 Oct 2024; Accepted: 13 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Saccò, Campbell, Aguilar Espinosa, Salazar, Berry, Heydenrych, Lawrie, White, Harrod and Allentoft. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Mattia Saccò, Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma, Parma, Italy, Parma, Italy

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.