Research Focus Area

eDNA

Many ocean species are elusive or live in environments where it’s difficult or impossible to observe them directly.

It's essential to understand which species are present, their movements, and their population dynamics for effective conservation, sustainable fisheries management, and ecosystem health monitoring. 

Environmental DNA (eDNA) allows us to detect marine life by analyzing genetic material they leave behind in water and sediment, enabling a powerful, non-invasive method to study biodiversity across vast and diverse ocean habitats.

The Challenge

Traditional methods for studying marine life, such as visual surveys or physical sampling, can be invasive, inaccessible, and time-consuming, often missing rare or cryptic organisms. Furthermore, they are often limited by the ocean’s vastness and depth and the secretive behaviors of many species. Without broad-scale, sensitive detection methods, significant gaps remain in our understanding of marine ecosystems and how they respond to environmental change.

Our Approach

Aboard the OceanXplorer, our scientists collect and analyze environmental DNA from seawater and sediment samples using cutting-edge sequencing technology. This allows us to rapidly and non-invasively detect and identify a wide array of marine organisms, from microscopic plankton to large predators, across multiple ecosystems. By integrating eDNA data with other observational tools, we build a comprehensive picture of ocean biodiversity and dynamics, improving conservation strategies and ecosystem management worldwide.

Key Objectives

  • Use eDNA to monitor biodiversity across depth gradients and habitat types.

  • Enhance traditional survey methods in MPAs and fishery stock assessments.

  • Detect rare, migratory, or cryptic species to inform ecological baselines.

Our Methodologies 

  • Water and Sediment Sampling: Collecting eDNA samples using Niskin bottles, CTD rosettes, and ROV-based samplers at targeted depths.

  • Onboard Filtration and Preservation: Filtering water through 0.22–0.45 µm membranes and preserving with ethanol or buffer solutions.

  • Molecular Analysis: Extracting DNA onboard using kits optimized for marine samples; performing qPCR, metabarcoding, and amplicon sequencing.

  • Bioinformatics Pipelines: Running sequence data through onboard servers with preloaded taxonomy databases for species identification.