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Evaluating restoration trajectories using DNA metabarcoding of ground-dwelling and airborne invertebrates and associated plant communities
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  • Mieke van der Heyde,
  • Michael Bunce,
  • Kingsley Dixon,
  • Kristen Fernandes,
  • Jonathan Majer,
  • Grant Wardell-Johnson,
  • Nicole White,
  • Paul Nevill
Mieke van der Heyde
Curtin University Bentley Campus

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Michael Bunce
Curtin University Bentley Campus
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Kingsley Dixon
Curtin University Bentley Campus
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Kristen Fernandes
Curtin University Bentley Campus
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Jonathan Majer
Curtin University Bentley Campus
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Grant Wardell-Johnson
Curtin University Bentley Campus
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Nicole White
Curtin University Bentley Campus
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Paul Nevill
Curtin University Bentley Campus
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Abstract

Invertebrates are important for restoration processes as they are key drivers of many landscape-scale ecosystem functions, including pollination, nutrient cycling and soil formation. However, invertebrates are often overlooked in restoration monitoring because they are highly diverse, poorly described, and time-consuming to survey, and require increasingly scarce taxonomic expertise to enable identification. DNA metabarcoding is a relatively new tool for rapid survey that is able to address some of these concerns, and provide information about the taxa with which invertebrates are interacting via food webs and habitat. Here we evaluate how invertebrate communities may be used to determine ecosystem trajectories during restoration. We collected ground-dwelling and airborne invertebrates across chronosequences of mine-site restoration in three ecologically disparate locations in Western Australia and identified invertebrate and plant communities using DNA metabarcoding. Ground-dwelling invertebrates showed the clearest restoration signals, with communities becoming more similar to reference communities over time. These patterns were weaker in airborne invertebrates, which have higher dispersal abilities and therefore less local fidelity to environmental conditions. Although we detected directional changes in community composition indicative of invertebrate recovery, patterns observed were inconsistent between study locations. The inclusion of plant assays allowed identification of plant species, as well as potential food sources and habitat. We demonstrate that DNA metabarcoding of invertebrate communities can be used to evaluate restoration trajectories. Testing and incorporating new monitoring techniques such as DNA metabarcoding is critical to improving restoration outcomes.
15 Sep 2021Submitted to Molecular Ecology
15 Sep 2021Reviewer(s) Assigned
28 Oct 2021Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
05 Nov 2021Editorial Decision: Revise Minor
05 Dec 2021Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
05 Dec 20211st Revision Received
06 Dec 2021Reviewer(s) Assigned
19 Jan 2022Editorial Decision: Accept
Apr 2022Published in Molecular Ecology volume 31 issue 7 on pages 2172-2188. 10.1111/mec.16375