{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,27]],"date-time":"2026-08-27T06:21:27Z","timestamp":1787811687674,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":60,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,19]],"date-time":"2026-08-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787097600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":18,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,1]],"date-time":"2026-08-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785542400000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/doi.wiley.com\/10.1002\/tdm_license_1.1"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Molecular Ecology Resources"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,8]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>\n                    The sustainability of Southeast Asian fisheries hinges on high\u2010throughput tools for monitoring early life\u2010stage fish biodiversity. However, applying DNA metabarcoding to hyper\u2010diverse tropical ichthyoplankton requires rigorous calibration to ensure quantitative reliability. We systematically evaluated the metabarcoding workflow using controlled mock communities, revealing that taxonomic recovery is governed by a stochastic limit of detection at a normalised proxy biomass threshold of \u2264\u20090.05. Quantitative analysis confirmed a significant linear relationship between specimen size and read abundance (\n                    <jats:italic>R<\/jats:italic>\n                    <jats:sup>2<\/jats:sup>\n                    up to 0.817), demonstrating that biomass\u2010driven template competition induces frequent false negatives for low\u2010biomass taxa, a phenomenon exacerbated by increasing community complexity (ANOVA:\n                    <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u2009&lt;\u20090.001). To mitigate these systemic biases, we applied a size\u2010stratified specimen\u2010balancing strategy intended to increase the representation of small\u2010bodied components in natural bulk samples. Applying this optimised workflow to field samples from Khanh Hoa, Vietnam, we identified 139 species and unmasked a North\u2013South biogeographic dichotomy (PERMANOVA:\n                    <jats:italic>R<\/jats:italic>\n                    <jats:sup>2<\/jats:sup>\n                    \u2009=\u200953%,\n                    <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u2009=\u20090.001) driven by transect\u2010scale environmental gradients and local hydrography. Notably, we identified diversity hotspots requiring &gt;\u2009200,000 reads for saturation, suggesting these sites act as critical larval retention zones. The contrast between functional management zones was highly significant (\n                    <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u2009=\u20090.002), with the conservation area (Zone B) exhibiting higher alpha richness and a nine\u2010fold increase in unique indicator species compared to high\u2010activity areas (18 vs. 2). Our work demonstrates that comprehensive validation is vital for accurate metabarcoding, offering a robust framework to understand how ecological gradients and localised human pressures shape Vietnam's critical marine spawning sites and nursery grounds.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1111\/1755-0998.70192","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,19]],"date-time":"2026-08-19T13:56:21Z","timestamp":1787147781000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Unravelling Bulk Ichthyoplankton Diversity in Vietnam: Metabarcoding Validation With Controlled Mock Samples"],"prefix":"10.1111","volume":"26","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-3793-3540","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Cam Hong","family":"Van","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biotechnology, School of Fisheries and Life Sciences Nha Trang University  Khanh Hoa Vietnam"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0922-8891","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Long Van","family":"Nguyen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Oceanography Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST)  Khanh Hoa Vietnam"},{"name":"Graduate University of Science and Technology (GUST), VAST  Ha Noi Vietnam"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3933-2948","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Oanh Thi","family":"Truong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biotechnology, School of Fisheries and Life Sciences Nha Trang University  Khanh Hoa Vietnam"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9586-2433","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sang Quang","family":"Tran","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biotechnology, School of Fisheries and Life Sciences Nha Trang University  Khanh Hoa Vietnam"},{"name":"Coastal Branch of Joint Vietnam\u2014Russia Tropical Science and Technology Research Center  Khanh Hoa Vietnam"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0716-2446","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Huy Quoc","family":"Pham","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Southern Research Center for Marine Fisheries Vietnam Academy of Fishery Sciences  Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2401-1359","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Binh Thuy","family":"Dang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biotechnology, School of Fisheries and Life Sciences Nha Trang University  Khanh Hoa Vietnam"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_11_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1442\u20109993.2001.01070.pp.x"},{"key":"e_1_2_11_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1541\u20100420.2005.00440.x"},{"key":"e_1_2_11_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/bioinformatics\/btu170"},{"key":"e_1_2_11_5_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/1755\u20100998.13008"},{"key":"e_1_2_11_6_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.15625\/1859\u20103097\/17231"},{"key":"e_1_2_11_7_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1373\/clinchem.2008.112797"},{"key":"e_1_2_11_8_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/edn3.41"},{"key":"e_1_2_11_9_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/1471\u20102105\u201010\u2010421"},{"key":"e_1_2_11_10_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/mec.16387"},{"key":"e_1_2_11_11_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/1471\u20102105\u201012\u201035"},{"key":"e_1_2_11_12_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3390\/agronomy11071274"},{"key":"e_1_2_11_13_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1890\/08\u20101823.1"},{"key":"e_1_2_11_14_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/mec.14350"},{"key":"e_1_2_11_15_1","volume-title":"Environmental 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