1. Marine species monitoring and conservation in a cup of water.
Marine species monitoring and conservation in a cup of water.
eDNA - A new tool in the toolbox to facilitate management goals for species conservation and ecosystems

2. The big picture
Biodiversity promotes ocean health and service provision
What species are present ?
What role and function do they have for the ecosystem ?
How do they respond to alterations in their chemical and physical environment ?
Are there species indicators of these changes ?

3. Traditional approach for marine monitoring is cumbersome

4. Our capacity to understand and act on ecosystems is limited by our capacity to observe and sense their inhabitants

5. Science 2015
PLOS Biology, 2011

6. De Vargas et al., Science, 2015

7. Deep-sea exploration: most deep-sea biodiversity is unknown

8. Earth's sixth mass extinction event under way, scientists warn

10. eDNA – what can we tell from a bucket of seawater?
eDNA: a mixture of DNA shed from many different organisms (without physical presence of the target) and whole microorganisms
Environmental sample
eDNA sample

11. eDNA – what can it be used for ?
Species-specific identification
Inventory of species=biodiversity

12. Areas of potential interest for eDNA
Marine biodiversity monitoring
ecosystem management
compliance surveillance
Tracking shift
Endangered species
Invasive species
Ballast water/climate changes
Citizen science
citizen science collection protocol for eDNA sampling at regional/national/international level

13. eDNA status and challenges
Applicable across broad taxonomic groups
Potentially cheaper, more sensitive, non-intrusive
Presence of eDNA indicates recent status
eDNA can tell about population distribution and abundance
NGS of eDNA can tell about species richeness
Suited to automatic sampling and analysis
But …. factors influencing eDNA detection in the marine environment (eDNA shedding rates, fate, and transport, degradation rates etc) require further attention
Incomplete database
False positives/negatives

14. PlosOne, 2012

15. Utility of metabarcoding to assess anthropogenic impacts on benthic eukaryotic community structure
Same conclusions as obtained by classical morphology-based monitoring techniques in a cost-effective, faster and more comprehensive manner.

16. 2016
Ecogenomic sensors =instruments that are capable of utilizing molecular analytical techniques to autonomously detect and/or quantify specific organisms of interest in the field
MBON “Extensive research has demonstrated that maintaining biodiversity promotes ocean health and service provision; therefore, monitoring the status and trends of marine biodiversity is important for effective ecosystem management.”
Duffy et al., 2013, BioScience

17. Sampling eDNA from microbes to whales using robotized platforms
«Our main task is to figure out how life in the sea is changing …» (MBARI) Use eDNA from microbes to marine mammals using a single water sample Use the Environmental Sample Processor (ESP) for eDNA sample analysis
Image souce: Kelly Lance © 2014 MBARI

18. Environmental Sample Processor
«eDNA on-line»
genosensor
Image: Holly Bowers
© 2014 MBARI

19. (& other raphidophytes) Alexandrium tamarense/
The ESP can detect a wide range of targets based on their genetic specificity
Microbes
Harmful Algae
Invertebrate Larvae
Pseudo-nitzschia sp.
(toxic & nontoxic)
Balanus glandula
(Acorn barnacle)
Heterosigma akashiwo
(& other raphidophytes)
Osedax
Mytilus sp.
(Shore mussels)
Toxins
Alexandrium tamarense/
catenella
Carcinus maenus sp.
(Green crab)
Karenia sp.
Polychaete

20. “Arctic program” – Leak detection/MOAB project 2012-2015
What microbial assemblage is there ?
Can microbial diversity change tell us about the presence of
oil in seawater and ESP detect key early-players in situ ?

21. RCN GENOMAPE (Petromaks 2) 2016-2019
What do they do?

22. RCN ISMOTOOL (Havbruk 2) 2017-2019
Address environmental challenges raised by intensive fish production in open sea and use ESP for early-warning detection
(1) fish pathogen (amoebic gill disease AGD) and parasite (salmon lice) in the water column
(2) escaped farmed fish (eDNA of Atlantic salmon and rainbow trout)
eDNA field operation with ESP
Laboratory work and eDNA q-PCR bench assays

23. eDNA – the next big thing in marine biodiversity?
DNAqua-Net: Developing new genetic tools for bioassessment and monitoring of aquatic ecosystems in Europe
Norway to contribute significantly to this global effort through the Norwegian barcoding initiative (NorBOL)
eDNA analysis is fast becoming an important tool in the hunt of biodiversity and multi-species inventory
On-going work in IRIS to contribute significantly to provide new innovative genetic tools for marine monitoring and sustainable management of anthropogenic activities.

24. Thank you all for attention Special thanks to Syliva Earle for her dedication to the sea !