The Use of Environmental DNA as Preliminary Description of Invertebrate Diversity in Three Sicilian Lakes
2025
Manuela Mauro | Francesco Longo | Mario Lo Valvo | Aiti Vizzini | Antonino Di Grigoli | Slobodanka Radovic | Vincenzo Arizza | Luca Vecchioni | Laura La Paglia | Vinicius Queiroz | Marialetizia Ponte | Claudio Gargano | Paolo Salvatore Francesco Ciaccio | Domenico Vicari | Mirella Vazzana
Freshwater ecosystems are among the most severely affected environments by species loss caused by climate change and intense anthropogenic pressure. To preserve biodiversity, biomonitoring plays a key role by providing reliable data on biological diversity and ecological status. Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding has emerged as a powerful and non-invasive alternative to traditional morphology-based sampling and identification methods. This study represents the first application of eDNA analysis to assess the invertebrate communities in three Sicilian Lakes: Poma, Piana degli Albanesi and Scanzano. Water samples were collected at two points in each lake and after filtration with nitrocellulose membranes, eDNA was extracted and metabarcoding analysis was performed. A total of 27 species were identified, belonging to Phyla of Annelida, Arthropoda and Rotifera. Notably, the analysis revealed the presence of alien species (<i>Daphnia parvula</i> and <i>Acanthocyclops americanus</i>), a dangerous species associated with the transmission of viral diseases (<i>Culex pipiens</i>), and potential new records for Sicily (<i>Stylaria lacustris</i>, <i>Platypalpus exilis</i>, <i>Pammene aurana</i>, <i>Limnephilus rhombicus</i>). These results provide a preliminary snapshot of invertebrate biodiversity at these sites, demonstrating how eDNA has the potential to complement, but not replace, traditional methods, contributing to the assessment of ecosystem status.
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