Using surface environmental DNA to assess arthropod biodiversity within a forested ecosystem

We collected environmental DNA from tree bark and understory foliage at 40 sites in a New Jersey forest and, using two metabarcoding primer sets, recovered over 1,000 arthropod molecular operational taxonomic units spanning 292 identified species, 181 families, and 28 orders — proof-of-concept that surface eDNA can survey terrestrial arthropod communities.