Project Description

Project Context :

Monitoring lake fish populations is essential for assessing and understanding ecosystem responses to human disturbances. In 2000, the WFD was adopted, regulating the monitoring of fish populations in lakes, which is carried out using gillnet fishing. Since then, alternative methods have emerged (e.g. environmental DNA) and have proven effective in addressing certain shortcomings or disadvantages of gillnet fishing (lethal to the individuals caught, time-consuming, requiring a large number of agents, and not very effective in capturing certain species).

Project Objectives :

The objective of Fish-DNA-Watch is to deploy eDNA metabarcoding and hydro acoustics in parallel with WFD surveys using gillnets in ~20 lakes in mainland France in order to validate their operationality and robustness, and to establish a national protocol that would enable their implementation for the monitoring of lake fish populations. Comparison with traditional inventories will demonstrate the relevance and feasibility of alternative methods and test the possibility of using them to produce ecological status indicator scores comparable to those obtained from conventional sampling data.

Project Results

Standardized and operational protocols for monitoring fish assemblages in lakes

To go further

Useful Links :

https://poleecla.fr/actualites/Lancement-de-la-campagne-d-echantillonnage-Fish-DNA-Watch

Contact : isabelle.domaizon[at]inrae.fr