Fig. 3. Major taxonomic shifts in relative sedaDNA read assignment through time.

Stacked normalized reads assigned to the rank ‘family’ in (A) Animalia (insects excluded) and (B) Viridiplantae. See Supplemental Figs. 10–12 for a metagenomic breakdown of samples by site. Source data are provided as a Source Data file. Note: sedaDNA abundance is likely affected by variable taphonomic intensity through time (such as temperature, moisture, and acidity) among other known and unknown micro-environmental conditions and recovery biases. While eDNA abundance and biomass arguably retain some correlation upon initial release, many other factors influence this relationship. As such, relative abundances with sedaDNA must be interpreted cautiously pending further research.