Large-scale marine eDNA database reveals seasonal latitudinal diversity gradients in Japan driven by vagrant fish
Abstract
The spatial and temporal patterns of marine diversity are essential for the sustainable use and management of marine ecosystems. Here, we investigated latitudinal and seasonal diversity gradients of fish genera in Japanese waters using environmental DNA (eDNA) data from 1,765 surveys conducted between 2017 to 2022. We found a negative relationship between genus richness and latitude, consistent with latitudinal diversity gradient (LDG). Importantly, the strength of the gradient varied seasonally, with steeper slopes observed during warm seasons compared to winter. This seasonal restructuring of LDGs may reflect the increased occurrence of tropical vagrant fish, rather than the commonly assumed pattern of seasonal migration. These transient taxa may temporarily elevate observed richness at higher latitudes but do not persist through winter conditions. As a result, short-term increases in biodiversity under warming conditions may not necessarily indicate stable ecological change. Our findings highlight that eDNA-based richness metrics can capture both persistent community structure and transient ecological processes, underscoring the need for careful interpretation of biodiversity patterns in a changing climate.
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BibTeX
@article{kasada2026largescale,
title = {{Large-scale marine eDNA database reveals seasonal latitudinal diversity gradients in Japan driven by vagrant fish}},
author = {Minoru Kasada and Naoto Shinohara and Kenta Tanaka and Riku Fukasawa and Akifumi S. Tanabe and Hisashi Yamakawa and Hirokazu Abe and Mahiko Abe and Hitoshi Araki and Tsutomu Enoki and Masashi Fukuoka and Karibu Fukuzawa and Ryutaro Goto and Masami Hamaguchi and Hideki Hamaoka and Natsuki Hasegawa and Yasuhisa Henmi and Masakazu Hori and Tadamitsu Igari and Mitsuhiro Ishii and Atsushi Ito and Tatsuru Kadota and Tadashi Kajita and Akihide Kasai and Osamu Kishida and Kiyoshi Kikuchi and Kazuya Kobayashi and Takuya Kunimori and Seikan Kurata and Reiji Masuda and Koki Matuda and Shunsuke Matsuoka and Yuki Minegishi and Satoshi Nagai and Hikaru Nakagawa and Masahiro Nakamura and Masahiro Nakaoka and Toshihiro Nishioka and Shin-ichiro Oka and Shouzo Ogiso and Kazuhiro Saito and Satoquo Seino and Nobuo Suzuki and Shota Suzuki and Teruhiko Takahara and Jiro Takano and Shoichi Takenaka and Yoshiyuki Tanaka and Yuta Ueta and Masayuki Yamamoto and Masa-aki Yoshida and Michio Kondoh},
journal = {Scientific Reports},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1038/s41598-026-52959-w},
url = {https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-52959-w},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Large-scale marine eDNA database reveals seasonal latitudinal diversity gradients in Japan driven by vagrant fish
AU - Minoru Kasada
AU - Naoto Shinohara
AU - Kenta Tanaka
AU - Riku Fukasawa
AU - Akifumi S. Tanabe
AU - Hisashi Yamakawa
AU - Hirokazu Abe
AU - Mahiko Abe
AU - Hitoshi Araki
AU - Tsutomu Enoki
AU - Masashi Fukuoka
AU - Karibu Fukuzawa
AU - Ryutaro Goto
AU - Masami Hamaguchi
AU - Hideki Hamaoka
AU - Natsuki Hasegawa
AU - Yasuhisa Henmi
AU - Masakazu Hori
AU - Tadamitsu Igari
AU - Mitsuhiro Ishii
AU - Atsushi Ito
AU - Tatsuru Kadota
AU - Tadashi Kajita
AU - Akihide Kasai
AU - Osamu Kishida
AU - Kiyoshi Kikuchi
AU - Kazuya Kobayashi
AU - Takuya Kunimori
AU - Seikan Kurata
AU - Reiji Masuda
AU - Koki Matuda
AU - Shunsuke Matsuoka
AU - Yuki Minegishi
AU - Satoshi Nagai
AU - Hikaru Nakagawa
AU - Masahiro Nakamura
AU - Masahiro Nakaoka
AU - Toshihiro Nishioka
AU - Shin-ichiro Oka
AU - Shouzo Ogiso
AU - Kazuhiro Saito
AU - Satoquo Seino
AU - Nobuo Suzuki
AU - Shota Suzuki
AU - Teruhiko Takahara
AU - Jiro Takano
AU - Shoichi Takenaka
AU - Yoshiyuki Tanaka
AU - Yuta Ueta
AU - Masayuki Yamamoto
AU - Masa-aki Yoshida
AU - Michio Kondoh
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - Scientific Reports
DO - 10.1038/s41598-026-52959-w
UR - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-52959-w
AB - The spatial and temporal patterns of marine diversity are essential for the sustainable use and management of marine ecosystems. Here, we investigated latitudinal and seasonal diversity gradients of fish genera in Japanese waters using environmental DNA (eDNA) data from 1,765 surveys conducted between 2017 to 2022. We found a negative relationship between genus richness and latitude, consistent with latitudinal diversity gradient (LDG). Importantly, the strength of the gradient varied seasonally, with steeper slopes observed during warm seasons compared to winter. This seasonal restructuring of LDGs may reflect the increased occurrence of tropical vagrant fish, rather than the commonly assumed pattern of seasonal migration. These transient taxa may temporarily elevate observed richness at higher latitudes but do not persist through winter conditions. As a result, short-term increases in biodiversity under warming conditions may not necessarily indicate stable ecological change. Our findings highlight that eDNA-based richness metrics can capture both persistent community structure and transient ecological processes, underscoring the need for careful interpretation of biodiversity patterns in a changing climate.
SN - 2045-2322
ER -