Environmental DNA at the population level: advancing conservation through non-invasive genetic and genomic approaches

Environmental DNA at the population level: advancing conservation through non-invasive genetic and genomic approaches | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Systematic Review Environmental DNA at the population level: advancing conservation through non-invasive genetic and genomic approaches Elisa Barreiro-Docío, Daniel García-Souto, María Saura, Sofía Consuegra This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8659594/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Environmental DNA (eDNA) has emerged as a transformative, non-invasive tool for ecological monitoring and conservation biology. Beyond species detection and community assessments, there is growing interest in applying eDNA to evaluate genetic variability and monitor ecosystem health, particularly for elusive or endangered species where traditional sampling is invasive or limited. In this systematic review, we synthesize recent advances in eDNA based population genetics based on a final dataset of 83 studies (72 research articles and 11 reviews), with special emphasis on the use of nuclear DNA (nuDNA) to capture intraspecific genetic diversity. We identify several technical challenges, including low DNA copy number, allelic dropout and the lack of individual genotypes. To address these constraints, we highlight allele frequency-based approaches as a promising strategy to estimate effective population size (Ne) directly from eDNA. These methods are particularly suitable for non-model species without reference genomes and for contexts where invasive sampling is not feasible. We further discuss the potential of eDNA Pool-seq technologies to improve cost efficiency and to infer the minimum number of contributing individuals. Together, these advances provide a pathway to extend the use of eDNA beyond biodiversity monitoring toward a comprehensive, non-invasive framework for population genetic inference in conservation. allele frequency eDNA effective population size (Ne) non-invasive genetic monitoring Pool-seq population genetics Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files SupplementatyTable1final.xlsx SupplementatyTable2final.xlsx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8659594","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Systematic Review","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":582988387,"identity":"5ec215be-8c88-4860-a52d-6861442a7535","order_by":0,"name":"Elisa Barreiro-Docío","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Elisa","middleName":"","lastName":"Barreiro-Docío","suffix":""},{"id":582988388,"identity":"0c3bb6d7-6765-4249-b9c4-5258bf5c5a74","order_by":1,"name":"Daniel García-Souto","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Instituto de Investigaciones 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