Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Alvaro Fueyo

@alvarofueyo.bsky.social

530 followers 540 following 29 posts

Applying and developing DNA-based molecular tools for the study of ecosystems and biodiversity. Working at #TaxusMedioAmbiente. Spain. Metabarcoding | eDNA | Phylogenetics | Pop Gen

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Alvaro Fueyo @alvarofueyo.bsky.social · Nov 17

Thrilled to share that my thesis is now published! 🎉 Assessing DNA metabarcoding and environmental DNA for biomonitoring fluvial ecosystems using macroinvertebrates in peninsular Spain.
You can access it here: dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.... 🌱🔬 #Macroinvertebrates #eDNA #Metabarcoding #FluvialEcosystems

(PDF) Assessing DNA metabarcoding and environmental DNA for biomonitoring fluvial ecosystems using macroinvertebrates in peninsular Spain

PDF | Fluvial ecosystems play a vital role in supporting biodiversity, providing freshwater, and sustaining human societies. Despite their importance,... | Find, read and cite all the research you nee...

dx.doi.org

1 1 15

Reposted by Alvaro Fueyo

Zsófia Horváth @zsofiahorvath.bsky.social · 17d

Looking for openly available:
- before-after data in space
- with a restoration measure inbetween (e.g. dam/invasive spec. removal, urban green space creation...)
- min. 10 sites (quadrats / random places along a stream / ponds...)
- species data, env. data of some sort, GPS coordinates

1 11 7

Reposted by Alvaro Fueyo

MARE @marescience.bsky.social · 5d

New Publication in The Journal of Fish Biology!

"Hidden in the gut: Metabarcoding reveals overlooked predation by the invasive European catfish (Silurus glanis)"

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

4 6

Alvaro Fueyo @alvarofueyo.bsky.social · 4d

Had a great time at the SEM Malacology Forum presenting two research projects — one poster on the restoration of the Piles River and an oral communication on the sequencing of Iberian freshwater molluscs. 🐚🌊 #Malacology #Biodiversity #Metabarcoding

Reposted by Alvaro Fueyo

Metabarcoding and Metagenomics @mbmg.pensoft.net · 6d

DNA metabarcoding identifies more invertebrate species under the Water Framework Directive than conventional methods, showing promise for faster and finer river health monitoring in Slovakia’s Carpathian streams.

🔗 doi.org/10.3897/mbmg...

Evaluating the potential of DNA metabarcoding for ecological status assessment under the Water Framework Directive: A case study on benthic invertebrates from Western Carpathian streams

Routine biomonitoring under the Water Framework Directive (WFD) follows a conventional methodology primarily based on the morphological identification of taxa within the five biological quality elemen...

doi.org

1 2

Reposted by Alvaro Fueyo

Florian Altermatt @florianaltermatt.bsky.social · 9d

In massive #collaborative #effort, we assembled published & unpublished #fish 🐟 #eDNA 🧬 metabarcoding datasets, covering ~2000 sampling sites/>100 river systems globally. 🐟 🐠 🐡 🌐 🌍

Now results out in 2 #parallel #preprints @biorxiv-ecology.bsky.social

#aquatic #biodiversity #meta-analysis
1/6🧵

1 10 34

Alvaro Fueyo @alvarofueyo.bsky.social · 12d

To move from research to routine use, we propose a roadmap 🛣️ — focused on implementation in Spain, but adaptable to other regions.

Alvaro Fueyo @alvarofueyo.bsky.social · 12d

Why do results differ between bulk, eDNA & morphology? 🤔

We show in our article concrete examples from our data of false positives, false negatives & other sources of variability — and propose solutions.

📊 See the summary in the table 👇

Alvaro Fueyo @alvarofueyo.bsky.social · 12d

💧 eDNA from rivers gave the most divergent results vs. bulk metabarcoding & morphology ID.
👉 Same pattern seen in other studies, even with a different methodology.
⏳ The spatiotemporal scale of the eDNA signal is still unclear — we must understand it better before using it in routine biomonitoring.

Alvaro Fueyo @alvarofueyo.bsky.social · 12d

In our NW Spain case study, we compared three complementary approaches:

🧪 Bulk (homogenized) tissue metabarcoding
💧 eDNA (water sample) metabarcoding
🔎 Traditional morphological ID

We examined false positives/negatives and other sources of variability driving discrepancies.

Alvaro Fueyo @alvarofueyo.bsky.social · 12d

📢 We’ve just published the discussion & roadmap from my PhD thesis: a critical look at how metabarcoding of macroinvertebrates can (and cannot yet) be used for routine river biomonitoring.

Let me walk you through the key take-homes, and where the method still needs work. 🧵
doi.org/10.1002/2688...

Technical challenges in the implementation of macroinvertebrate DNA metabarcoding in river biomonitoring: A case study from peninsular Spain—Advantages, limitations and roadmap

This study evaluates the opportunities and challenges of using DNA metabarcoding of river macroinvertebrates for routine ecological status assessment under the EU Water Framework Directive. By reanal....

doi.org

Alvaro Fueyo @alvarofueyo.bsky.social · 22d

In just months, macroinvertebrates recolonised step by step.
📊 DNA metabarcoding + classical ID revealed a rapid shift from pioneer taxa to sensitive EPT groups (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Trichoptera).
Good ecological status achieved in under 2 years!

Alvaro Fueyo @alvarofueyo.bsky.social · 22d

Opening the bottom valves of the Matalavilla dam released the first ecological flows in half a century, breathing life back into the Valseco stream.
💧 A simple change, a huge ecological impact.

Alvaro Fueyo @alvarofueyo.bsky.social · 22d

Our new paper shows how a small Iberian stream, dry for 50 years, bounced back to good ecological status in <2 years after environmental flows were restored. 🌊🪱
👉 doi.org/10.1111/rec.70198

#RiverRestoration #EnvironmentalFlows #FreshwaterEcology

Back to life after 50 years: effects of environmental flow restoration on macroinvertebrate biodiversity and river ecological status. A case study of the Valseco stream, Spain

The construction of dams and reservoirs to meet increasing water and electricity demands has significantly altered many natural river flows, posing threats to the ecological integrity of freshwater e...

doi.org

1 8 15

Reposted by Alvaro Fueyo

Philipp Bayer @philippbayer.bsky.social · Sep 6

It's actually amazing how long I've been waiting for this. No more guessing which column has the querycovperc!
Plus, gzipped fastas for makeblastdb! Finally!

Antonio Camargo @apcamargo.bsky.social · Sep 6

A BLAST update adding support for compressed files and csv output with headers is a Good Friday night surprise!

blast.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/doc/blast-ne...

2025 BLAST NEWS — BlastNews 0.1.1 documentation

blast.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

2 7

Reposted by Alvaro Fueyo

Rayan Chikhi @rayanchikhi.bsky.social · Sep 3

🌎👩‍🔬 For 15+ years biology has accumulated petabytes (million gigabytes) of🧬DNA sequencing data🧬 from the far reaches of our planet.🦠🍄🌵

Logan now democratizes efficient access to the world’s most comprehensive genetics dataset. Free and open.

doi.org/10.1101/2024...

3 120 220

Reposted by Alvaro Fueyo

Philipp Bayer @philippbayer.bsky.social · Aug 29

This is great - we a huge need in the #eDNA community to have data-informed standards for eDNA identity cutoffs, not just the bog-standard 97%
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
For Chordata there is no cutoff that leads to 0% error when assigning species!! (Table S4)

Taxon‐specific BLAST percent identity thresholds for identification of unknown sequences using metabarcoding

The identification of organisms in environmental samples using metabarcoding relies on factors such as taxonomic assignment methods, genetic markers, reference databases and confidence thresholds ...

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

10 25

Reposted by Alvaro Fueyo

Science Magazine @science.org · Aug 22

Researchers have filmed thousands of climbing catfish scaling waterfalls, providing a rare insight into the daring migration of an enigmatic fish.

Learn more: https://scim.ag/4lDlFux

10 230 670

Reposted by Alvaro Fueyo

Randall Munroe @xkcd.com · Jul 21

Replication Crisis

xkcd.com/3117/

4-panel comic. (1) [Person 1 with ponytail flanked by person with short hair and another person speaking into microphone at podium] PERSON 1: In the early 2010s, researchers found that many major scientific results couldn’t be reproduced. (2) PERSON 1: Over a decade into the replication crisis, we wanted to see if today’s studies have become more robust. (3) PERSON 1: Unfortunately, our replication analysis has found exactly the same problems that those 2010s researchers did. (4) [newspaper with image of speakers from previous panels] Headline: Replication Crisis Solved

28 660 4.9K

Reposted by Alvaro Fueyo

Methods in Ecology and Evolution @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social · Jul 16

📖Published📖

Sources of uncertainty in DNA metabarcoding of whole communities: Implications for its use in biomonitoring 🧬 🌍 🧪 Find the article here 👇

buff.ly/6zJRh9R

3 7

Reposted by Alvaro Fueyo

Martin A. Nuñez @martin-nunez.bsky.social · Jul 4

We want to thank reviewer #2 for the very constructive comments. We were able to incorporate all of them. The manuscript is now much more clear.

1 15 80

Reposted by Alvaro Fueyo

Birds of the World | The Cornell Lab @birdsoftheworld.bsky.social · Jun 11

A monumental taxonomy unification effort has just been published - thanks to all those who've collaborated for years to make this happen!
birdsoftheworld.org/bow/news/avi...

Birds of the World - AviList: A Unified Global Checklist of the World’s Birds is Now Available

AviList, a unified global checklist of birds, that provides the most current and authoritative taxonomy of birds around the world was released today by experts in taxonomy, nomenclature, and bioinform...

birdsoftheworld.org

4 79 200

Alvaro Fueyo @alvarofueyo.bsky.social · Jun 6

Creo que croacia es del espacio schengen desde 2023 🤔

Alvaro Fueyo @alvarofueyo.bsky.social · Jun 6

😇 Para los curiosos que se la quieran leer o al menos echar un vistazo, está disponible a través de este enlace:
www.researchgate.net/publication/...

(PDF) Assessing DNA metabarcoding and environmental DNA for biomonitoring fluvial ecosystems using macroinvertebrates in peninsular Spain

www.researchgate.net

Alvaro Fueyo @alvarofueyo.bsky.social · Jun 6

Esta tesis ha desarrollado como un Doctorado Industrial en colaboración con Taxus Medio Ambiente y @universidadoviedo.bsky.social. Y ha sido financiada por el Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación y la agencia Sekuens del Principado de Asturias.
@crueuniversidades.bsky.social
@filarramendi.bsky.social

Alvaro Fueyo @alvarofueyo.bsky.social · Jun 6

💡Para acabar identificamos todos los retos que tienen estas técnicas hasta su implementación efectiva en la península ibérica y planteamos un hoja de ruta para trabajar en solventarlos.