Airborne eDNA Reveals Resource-Based Assembly of Frugivorous Vertebrates

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Biodiversity Science
• Molecular Ecology

Background:

• Vertebrate spatial distribution is driven by food availability, but quantifying this in complex tropical rainforests is difficult.
• Understanding resource heterogeneity is key for ecological theory and conservation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if airborne environmental DNA (eDNA) reflects fine-scale animal distributions linked to fruit resources.
• To test the influence of fruit availability on vertebrate community structure in a tropical rainforest.

Main Methods:

• Combined airborne eDNA sampling with ground-based fruit tree surveys in Xishuangbanna tropical rainforest.
• Utilized occupancy models to analyze vertebrate occurrence patterns and account for detection bias.

Main Results:

• Airborne eDNA detected a diverse vertebrate community (71 bird, 18 mammal species) with high spatial resolution.
• Vertebrate occurrence was significantly influenced by overall fruiting tree abundance, especially small-fruited trees.
• Established the first airborne eDNA evidence linking fine-scale fruit availability to vertebrate spatial distribution.

Conclusions:

• Airborne eDNA is a valuable tool for biodiversity monitoring in complex ecosystems.
• Fruit resource availability, particularly from small-fruited trees, is a critical factor in vertebrate distribution.
• Findings support trait-based ecological hypotheses and advance community assembly theory.