The systematic search resulted in 692 records, which were screened to to select only those studies that: (i) amplified some portion of the standard COI barcode “Folmer'' region (Folmer et al., 1994), (ii) fit our definition of wocDNA samples, comprising mixtures of organisms extracted from the substrate, and (iii) provided a characterisation of metazoan communities. Studies targeting extra-organismal DNA (i.e. eDNA, iDNA) were excluded. We included studies of experimental mock communities composed of mixtures of DNA extracted from individual specimens or mixtures of specimens, and we also included studies where the target organisms remained partially or completely within an environmental substrate upon which DNA extraction was performed (e.g. parasites within a host, arthropods within soil), if the principal target was the whole organism community DNA. After reviewing the final set of filtered papers, 24 additional papers fitting the selection criteria but not present in the systematic WOS search were also included. A total of 111 articles constituted the set of core papers for subsequent assessment (see Table S2 for a complete list).