ICTIOGEN. Sampling for genetic identification of fish species in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country — Euskadi Nature Information System

Detection of freshwater fish and mollusc species by e-DNA analysis in water samples from the river basins of the Basque Country. The monitoring process of fish fauna currently used in the Biomonitoring of the aquatic ecosystems of the CAPV consists of the taxonomic identification based on morphological characters of specimens caught by electric fishing. This method involves the fieldwork of qualified personnel (expert taxonomists), in addition to the technical difficulties generated by working with electrical equipment in the field, the complexity of sampling protocols especially regarding the sampling area and the working time involved in collecting the data. These circumstances make sampling campaigns lengthen over time. But in addition to all this, there is a factor that alters the results and is that the ictic fauna moves through the rivers and the specimens can be detected or not in the sampling, with a random component, since it is the specimen itself and not the remains that leave it in its path what is identified. All this reduces the possibility of detecting specimens of rare species. New genomic tools can overcome many of the problems mentioned above and could complement traditional bioassessment and biomonitoring strategies. These analyses are taxonomically more exhaustive, much faster, independent of the time of the life cycle of the individuals or their physical presence at the time of sampling in the evaluated area and are also auditable by third parties.