Evaluating and optimizing the performance of software commonly used for the taxonomic classification of DNA metabarcoding sequence data

The taxonomic classification of DNA sequences has become a critical component of numerous ecological research applications; however, few studies have evaluated the strengths and weaknesses of commonly used sequence classification approaches. Further, the methods and software available for sequence classification are diverse, creating an environment in which it may be difficult to determine the best course of action and the trade‐offs made using...