## eDNA Sampling Details

Report Number: 2504241030

Receiving Entity: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

Location: Upper Niagara River, NY/ON

Collection Entity (Office): U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Lower Great Lakes FWCO)

Sample Date(s): Sep. 3 - Sep. 24, 2024

eDNA Samples Processed: 19 environmental samples, 7 controls

Target Gene: 12s (Genomic site used for DNA amplification)

### Quick Glance Results

- A total of 19 unique sample locations were surveyed at Upper Niagara River, NY/ON in the Lake Erie basin.

- Across all samples, DNA was detected from 46 taxa including a total of 42 unique species-level detections.

- On average per sample, the amount of water filtered was 2.01 liters, the sequencing depth (number of assigned DNA reads) was 178,690 reads, and the number of detected taxa was 19 species and genera.

## Great Lakes USFWS AIS Watchlist Detections

The USFWS Great Lakes AIS watchlist was developed utilizing information from Great Lakes Aquatic Nonindigenous Species Information System (GLANSIS), USFWS Ecological Risk Assessments, the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers Least Wanted list, and partner input.

AIS Watchlist Species Were Detected
Common Name | Scientific Name | Determination | Number of Samples with DNA Detected
--- | --- | --- | ---
Blue Catfish | Ictalurus furcatus | Detection | 1
Note: Use dropdown list in the map below to see where exactly at this location watchlist detections occurred.

## qPCR Validation Results

For certain USFWS AIS watchlist species, potential exists for positive metabarcoding detections to undergo further analysis using Quantitative PCR (qPCR). qPCR is species specific and typically more sensitive then metabarcoding. Positive results from qPCR analysis provides additional evidence for the presence of target species DNA. Follow-up qPCR analysis is dependent on genetic marker availability for a species, lab capacity, and watchlist status.

qPCR Validation Results
Results of follow-up qPCR testing to validate any potential metabarcoding detections of interest
Common Name | Scientific Name | qPCR Marker | Gene Target | Number of Samples
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
Tested | Positive
Blue Catfish | Ictalurus furcatus | ICFU_COI02 | COI | 6 | 0
Note: Use dropdown list in the below map to filter for locations where taxa specific qPCR follow-up was performed.

## eDNA Results

#### Location Map

The results map is interactive and can be used to explore sample locations and where specific taxa DNA detections occurred within Upper Niagara River, NY/ON. Layers can be turned on/off by checking the boxes in the top right corner of the map. To see where DNA detections occurred for a specific taxa, select a species from the drop-down list and ensure the Metabarcoding Results layer is added to the map. When all species are selected only information for the topmost record is displayed. Clicking on an individual point will open a pop-up that contains information regarding that particular record. Additionally, the map can be enlarged by clicking the expand icon in the top left corner of the map, and saved as an image file by selecting the download icon also in the top left corner.

Fish Taxa Name:

Figure 1. Interactive map showing sample locations (yellow circles), metabarcoding detections (blue squares), qPCR results (If present: purple triangle = negative detection, orange inverted-triangle = positive detction), and Non-indiginous Aquatic Species (NAS) records for associated HUC10 drainages (If present: green diamond). Metabarcoding, qPCR, and NAS layers are able to be filtered by a selected taxa. Clicking on an individual point in a layer will open a pop-up that contains information for that sample.

#### Detection Table

Table 1. The eDNA detection summary table lists all taxa DNA detected. The table includes the taxon name (common and scientific), along with the number of samples in which it was detected, the percentage of all samples in which it was detected, and the mean sequence read frequency of those detections. The table is able to be sorted in either ascending or descending order by clicking on a column header.

## Accessing eDNA Results Data

### Report Data

The data associated with this report can be downloaded for further exploration or analysis. The file will download as an Excel file with a second worksheet that contains a data dictionary providing descriptions of the data types and fields found in the dataset.

### Complete Great Lakes Metabarcoding Dataset

The Great Lakes Early Detection and Monitoring Programs metabarcoding results dataset can be found here. This file is updated when results are publicly posted following the communications protocol.

## Questions and Additional Information

For any questions related to detection results or assistance with interpretation please contact the following program lead:

Nick Frohnauer
  USFWS, Great Lakes EDM Coordinator | email: nicholas_frohnauer@fws.gov | phone: 612-431-5829