International Journal of Marine Science, 2025, Vol.15, No.3, 118-129 http://www.aquapublisher.com/index.php/ijms 127 7.2 Evaluate the effects of ecological restoration and resource restoration Hainan has taken a variety of measures in the ecological restoration of coral reefs in recent years, including artificial transplantation of corals and setting up fish reefs. The ultimate goal of these measures is to restore biodiversity and ecological function, and eDNA technology can serve as an evaluation tool to measure the effectiveness of repair. Traditionally, evaluating coral reef restoration often involves measuring coral survival rates or observing changes in fish populations, but these indicators may be one-sided. With eDNA, we can test whether repair has brought about the expected ecological improvement from the perspective of the entire biome. If the eDNA results show that the number of species has gradually increased, especially the increase in DNA frequency of reef-based fish, it means that the reef has successfully attracted and supported more fish to stay, that is, the repair is effective. Similarly, whether the seedlings that are artificially proliferated and released can also be confirmed by detecting the DNA of specific species. Another application is post-disaster assessment. When coral reefs experience extreme events, whether fish communities decline or migrate accordingly, eDNA can provide a rapid diagnosis. Compared with traditional surveys, eDNA can be screened in a large range in a short time, which is very suitable for repeated use at different stages of the restoration project. Similar practices have been found internationally: after the installation of artificial structures of damaged coral reefs, fish diversity was monitored with eDNA. The results showed that the number of species in the recovery area was significantly higher than that in the unrepaired area, demonstrating the effectiveness of the intervention (Ushio et al., 2020). In Hainan, eDNA indicators (such as species richness and biodiversity index) can be included in the ecological restoration effect assessment system to quantify the ecological benefits of restoration. 7.3 Improve scientific management and policy decision-making support The new data types provided by environmental DNA technology will greatly enrich the knowledge base of Hainan marine ecosystem managers and help achieve more scientific decision-making. Long-term eDNA monitoring can establish big data, and statistical modeling can identify the drivers of fish community changes. For example, by correlating environmental factors such as eDNA species abundance and water quality, water temperature, etc., it can be found which species are most sensitive to environmental changes, and then serve as indicators of environmental health (He et al., 2022). Secondly, eDNA can help optimize protection planning. For Hainan, we can draw a distribution map of fish diversity in coastal coral reefs based on eDNA surveys and find the species abundance center and the distribution points of endangered species. This provides a scientific basis for the construction or adjustment of the scope of marine protected areas. Again, eDNA technology can also be applied to law enforcement and supervision. When cracking down on illegal fish frying, electric fish and other activities, abnormally high concentrations of fish DNA fragments often remain in the water on site. Using portable rapid detection of eDNA can help law enforcement personnel determine whether illegal fishing has occurred in the near future. In terms of public education and community co-management, eDNA results intuitively reflect regional biodiversity and can be used to increase public awareness of environmental protection. Showing the rich list of species obtained by eDNA analysis in local waters to fishermen and communities can help them recognize the preciousness of the ocean around them and thus support the implementation of conservation policies. Acknowledgements The authors gratefully acknowledge the support provided by Zhang W. and thank the two peer reviewers for their suggestions. Conflict of Interest Disclosure The authors confirm that the study was conducted without any commercial or financial relationships and could be interpreted as a potential conflict of interest. References Banerjee P., Stewart K.A., Dey G., Antognazza C.M., Sharma R.K., Maity J.P., Saha S., Doi H., Vere N., Michael, Chan W.Y., Lin P.Y., Chao H.C., and Chen C.Y., 2022, Environmental DNA analysis as an emerging non-destructive method for plant biodiversity monitoring: a review, AoB Plants, 14(4): plac031. https://doi.org/10.1093/aobpla/plac031 Bessey C., Jarman S.N., Berry O., Olsen Y.S., Bunce M., Simpson T., Power M., Mc Laughlin J., Edgar G.J., and Keesing J., 2020, Maximizing fish detection with eDNA metabarcoding, Environmental DNA, 2(4): 493-504. https://doi.org/10.1002/edn3.74
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