Using environmental DNA for rapid and cost-efficient arthropod biodiversity assessments

Assessing arthropod biodiversity has proven very difficult given the taxonomic, life history, and habitat diversity contained in this group. The context in which arthropod biodiversity information is used is also quite varied including documenting invasive and non-native species presence, assessing the impact of pesticide or other management actions on beneficial arthropods, documenting population and range contractions among key arthropod groups, and documenting the ecosystem services arthropods can provide. Environmental DNA (eDNA) has emerged as a powerful tool for surveying arthropod diversity as the technology can reduce barriers to biodiversity information production. Here we describe collecting eDNA data in a non-destructive way from tree and plant surfaces and the information this approach produces on forest arthropod communities. We also illustrate how we can combine these field methods with nanopore sequencing technology to produce cost-efficient and rapid arthropod biodiversity inventories within forested and agricultural ecosystems. Our preliminary results point to the need for technique refinement, especially in fit-for-purpuse use cases, and the need for accelerating investment in building genetic libraries backed by taxonomic expertise.