Environmental DNA Freshwater Namibia Namibia 2022

Monitoring terrestrial mammals through eDNA in rivers of northern Namibia In 2022, we collected 20 water samples from 10 stations two rivers of Namibia. Samples were taken from the side of the river. At each station, we performed two filtration replicates using a peristaltic pump to conduct environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling. Each filtration targeted a maximum duration of 30 minutes, during which approximately 30 liters of water were filtered through each capsule. After filtration, the water inside the capsules was removed, and the capsules were filled with 50 ml of conservation buffer for preservation at room temperature. We followed strict contamination control protocols throughout both the fieldwork and laboratory processes, adhering to the guidelines of Valentini et al. (2016). We used eDNA primers targeting bacteria, bivalves, fish, vertebrates (V05) and all Eukaryotes (Euka03). To prevent contamination, each sample was processed using disposable gloves and single-use filtration equipment. The MiSeq Reagent Kit v3 (2x75 bp) (Illumina, San Diego, CA, USA) was used for paired-end sequencing at a theoretical sequencing depth of 200,000 reads per sample. Data content: * rawdata/: