Table 1.

The set of candidate models used to investigate, which mean fish counts (only lowest river section (ZA I) or sum of all sections (ZA)) provide the best fit to eDNA signals obtained at point 1 and if the inclusion of mean daily discharge significantly improves model fit.

Model #	Model description
DD1	copies/µl = mean fish counts at ZA I
DD2	copies/µl = mean fish counts whole ZA
DD3	copies/µl = mean fish counts whole ZA/discharge
EP1	RFU = ln(mean fish counts at ZA I)
EP2	RFU = ln(mean fish counts whole ZA)
EP3	RFU = ln(mean fish counts whole ZA/discharge)

Models DD1 to DD3 include eDNA concentration obtained from digital PCR (copies/µl extract) and were compared to each other; models EP1 to EP3 include eDNA signal strength obtained from CE-PCR (RFU) and were compared to each other.