Life finds its way in seaports: environmental DNA monitoring in the Grand Port Maritime de Guadeloupe shows vertebrate richness but reduced phylogenetic diversity
Abstract
Ports are increasingly recognized as distinct urban marine ecosystems (UME) shaped by intense human activities, yet their biodiversity remains poorly documented, particularly in tropical regions. Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding offers a powerful, non-invasive approach to assessing biodiversity in these complex and highly modified environments. In this study, we conducted, to our knowledge, the first eDNA-based inventory of marine vertebrates within the Grand Port Maritime de la Guadeloupe, a semi-enclosed coastal system embedded in a mosaic of coral reefs, seagrass beds, mangroves and restored habitats. Using a standardized sampling and taxonomic assignment protocol, we characterized vertebrate communities across four sites and compared them with a reference transect outside the port area. We detected 140 teleost taxa, representing more than one-third of the known regional diversity, including several species of management concern. Despite their proximity, sites exhibited compositional and phylogenetic contrasts, revealing fine-scale spatial structuring of eDNA signals within the port. Restored mangrove and seagrass areas combined high taxonomic richness with unexpectedly low phylogenetic diversity, suggesting colonization by closely related opportunistic species. By integrating taxonomic and phylogenetic metrics, our study highlights the unique biodiversity assemblages found in port ecosystems and demonstrates the value of eDNA-derived metrics for future biodiversity monitoring and marine spatial planning in UME.
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BibTeX
@article{haderle2026life,
title = {{Life finds its way in seaports: environmental DNA monitoring in the Grand Port Maritime de Guadeloupe shows vertebrate richness but reduced phylogenetic diversity}},
author = {Rachel Haderlé and Karen Cosnier and Samuel Iglésias and Alice Valentini and Visotheary Ung and Jean-Luc Jung},
journal = {Royal Society Open Science},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1098/rsos.252459},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05756113v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Life finds its way in seaports: environmental DNA monitoring in the Grand Port Maritime de Guadeloupe shows vertebrate richness but reduced phylogenetic diversity
AU - Rachel Haderlé
AU - Karen Cosnier
AU - Samuel Iglésias
AU - Alice Valentini
AU - Visotheary Ung
AU - Jean-Luc Jung
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/02
JO - Royal Society Open Science
DO - 10.1098/rsos.252459
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05756113v1
AB - Ports are increasingly recognized as distinct urban marine ecosystems (UME) shaped by intense human activities, yet their biodiversity remains poorly documented, particularly in tropical regions. Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding offers a powerful, non-invasive approach to assessing biodiversity in these complex and highly modified environments. In this study, we conducted, to our knowledge, the first eDNA-based inventory of marine vertebrates within the Grand Port Maritime de la Guadeloupe, a semi-enclosed coastal system embedded in a mosaic of coral reefs, seagrass beds, mangroves and restored habitats. Using a standardized sampling and taxonomic assignment protocol, we characterized vertebrate communities across four sites and compared them with a reference transect outside the port area. We detected 140 teleost taxa, representing more than one-third of the known regional diversity, including several species of management concern. Despite their proximity, sites exhibited compositional and phylogenetic contrasts, revealing fine-scale spatial structuring of eDNA signals within the port. Restored mangrove and seagrass areas combined high taxonomic richness with unexpectedly low phylogenetic diversity, suggesting colonization by closely related opportunistic species. By integrating taxonomic and phylogenetic metrics, our study highlights the unique biodiversity assemblages found in port ecosystems and demonstrates the value of eDNA-derived metrics for future biodiversity monitoring and marine spatial planning in UME.
SN - 2054-5703
SN - 2054-5703
ER -