Genetic Diversity of Oceanic Dolphins from eDNA Sampling Around Santa Catalina Island

Frederick I. Archer's dataset contains results from environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding of seawater samples collected during 15 dolphin encounters. The data includes 240 Amplicon Sequence Variants (ASVs) resolved for four delphinid taxa around Santa Catalina Island, California. The study, last updated in May 2026, demonstrates the application of eDNA for estimating population genetic diversity.

Use Cases

• Estimating population genetic diversity based on Amplicon Sequence Variant (ASV) richness and Hill numbers
• Comparing mitochondrial DNA diversity across dolphin species (e.g., Delphinus vs. Grampus griseus) based on eDNA sampling
• Designing future eDNA sampling strategies for wild delphinids based on the rarefaction analysis results

Strengths

• Data is derived from 126 seawater samples collected during 15 distinct dolphin encounters.
• Results are based on 240 resolved Amplicon Sequence Variants (ASVs) from four dolphin species.
• The dataset is licensed under CC-BY-4.0, permitting open sharing and adaptation.

Limitations

• Row count and column-level documentation are unknown, requiring manual inspection after download.
• The dataset's 19.9 KB size suggests a limited scope, likely containing summary results rather than raw sequence data.
• The description indicates population diversity was not fully represented for the more abundant Delphinus species.

Provenance

Source

Frederick I. Archer via figshare.

Collection Method

Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding of seawater samples, with sequencing and assignment of Amplicon Sequence Variants using GenBank and a region-specific reference database.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-19 04:19:27.

Geography

Waters around Santa Catalina Island, California, USA.