Figure legends
Figure 1. Relationships between the zebrafish eDNA concentration and the
number of fish individuals among filter pore sizes and fragment lengths.
From left to right, each four-panel shows the relationships using larger
(10 µm) to smaller (0.2 µm) pore size filters. Additionally, each
four-panel reveals the relationships targeting shorter (132 bp) to
longer (1021 bp) eDNA fragments from the top to bottom. Solid and dashed
lines represent the linear regressions of target eDNA concentrations
(log-transformed) against fish individuals and their 95% confidence
intervals (CIs). The abbreviation “Adj.R2” meansR2 values adjusted by the degree of freedom.
Figure 2. R2 values (a) and slopes (b) in the
linear regressions for zebrafish eDNA among filter pore sizes and
fragment lengths. Each color of the bar plots (a) and plots (b) indicate
the filter pore size. Plots and error bars in (b) represent the mean
values and their 95% CIs.
Figure 3. Relative R2 values among eDNA size
fractions targeting the size-fractionated (CX, a),
upside-cumulative (UCX, b), and downside-cumulative eDNA
concentration (DCX, c) from Japanese jack mackerel. Each
relative R2 value is calculated based on the
eDNA concentration at >10 µm (a & b) and >0.4
µm size fractions (c). Plots and error bars represent the mean relativeR2 values and 95% CIs. Gray dashed lines
represent the standard R2 values (relativeR2 value = 1). All the datasets originated from
Jo et al. (2019).
Figure 4. Schematic depiction of the relationship between eDNA
concentration and species abundance depending on the eDNA particle size
inferred by this study. As the particle size of the target eDNA
increases, its apparent persistence in water could be shorter, whereas
its spatial dispersion and distribution could be more heterogeneous.
Thus, larger eDNA particles would not necessarily explain the abundance
of target species more accurately and sensitively. However, considering
the multiple factors regarding the eDNA characteristics and dynamics,
“appropriately” larger eDNA particles (indicated as 3–10 µm in our
study) can be suitable for accurate and sensitive abundance estimation.