Metabarcoding of storage ethanol vs. conventional morphometric identification in relation to the use of stream macroinvertebrates as ecological indicators in forest management

•Substantial congruence in results of two different taxonomic identification methods.•DNA metabarcoding of ethanol identified fewer taxa than did morphometrics.•Primary explanatory variables elucidated varied with identification method.•Differing conclusions could have consequences for forest management decisions.•With refinements, DNA metabarcoding of preservative ethanol shows promise.