Environmental DNA metabarcoding for identifying fish communities near established and developing mines in the Canadian Arctic

In Canada, resource development projects require biodiversity monitoring as part of their permitting and approval processes. The assessment of fish species in freshwater lakes near mines can be challenging due to limited accessibility to remote locations and low efficiency of conventional monitoring methods, in particular in the Canadian Arctic. The utility of environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding for detecting fish species has grown due to its high sensitivity, non-invasive sampling methods, and comprehensive data collection. Herein, we demonstrate the use of eDNA metabarcoding targeting the fish 12S rRNA gene in Arctic freshwater lakes adjacent to established and developing mining sites. We also report the novel detection of pygmy whitefish (Prosopium coulterii) in Nunavut, Canada, in multiple lakes across multiple sampling years. Overall, this study demonstrates the stability of fish communities near an established mining site and highlights the utility of eDNA metabarcoding for biodiversity monitoring in Arctic freshwater lakes.