Field-derived temperature correction compromises eDNA-based abundance inference

Abstract

Environmental DNA (eDNA) has emerged as a promising tool for estimating fish abundance, yet linking eDNA concentration to true density remains a significant challenge in seasonal systems, where the signal is strongly influenced by temperature. We investigated whether eDNA can serve as an abundance index for three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) in four coastal bays of the Baltic Sea (5.7-20.5{degrees}C, April-July 2023), by pairing eDNA sampling with two trap types of contrasting catchability. Light traps capture fish by phototactic attraction during darkness, so their catchability is driven primarily by night duration rather than temperature, while benthic traps respond to temperature through the same activity-driven mechanism as eDNA production. The temperature sensitivity of eDNA estimated from field data was far higher than physiological expectation (Q10 = 12.4, against a maximum metabolic rate benchmark of Q10 = 3.5), indicating that the field temperature signal reflects ecological change in addition to metabolism. We then compared how well three eDNA predictors tracked a combined trap-based abundance index: uncorrected eDNA, eDNA corrected with the temperature response constrained to the laboratory metabolic rate (a first-principles correction), and eDNA corrected with the response estimated from the field data. Uncorrected and first-principles-corrected eDNA were both strong predictors of abundance (standardised slopes of 0.45 and 0.43), whereas the field-corrected predictor was not (0.08). Uncorrected and first-principles-corrected eDNA performed comparably because temperature and abundance increased together over the season; the first-principles correction is nonetheless preferable, as it remains reliable when this covariation is unknown a priori. We conclude that estimating a temperature correction from field data should be avoided in seasonal eDNA monitoring, because it removes the abundance signal together with the temperature effect and assumes a stability in abundance that cannot be verified without independent reference data.