Scientists assessing biodiversity will now be able to use traces of free DNA left by organisms in the environment.
The Marine Biological Association (MBA) is part of two £1.2m Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) projects to find out how effective tools developed around environmental DNA (eDNA) will be at telling us what organisms are present in an area, and how ecosystems work.
Colin Brownlee, MBA director, said: “The team will make an unprecedented inventory of the marine life in the study area ranging from the smallest microbes to the biggest marine mammals.”
“This will build on the expertise of research scientists at the MBA who have pioneered the use of DNA-based tools to assess marine biodiversity,” he added.
The new and powerful tools, that will use the free DNA, will be developed and tested by a partnership of institutions, such as the Plymouth Marine Laboratory and National Oceanography Centre.
Scientists will use seawater samples from a site in the English Channel near Plymouth where oceanographic, chemical and biological sampling will provide the historical background. This information will be necessary in understanding the potential for use of eDNA in models of ecosystem functioning.
The broader aim of this project is to support biodiversity and nature services through the NERC's managing environmental change programme.
