Integrated Coastal Observatory
- Samples analyzed
- 1573
Project Overview
The Integrated Coastal Observatory (ICO) is a coordinated network of partners along the coast of British Columbia who are using environmental DNA (eDNA) to monitor marine biodiversity. Environmental DNA samples from seawater are collected monthly to track the diversity of fish present at each site. The resulting data provide an important tool for monitoring changes in diversity over broad spatial and temporal scales. Long-term eDNA-based monitoring in coastal BC will help us to measure ecosystem health and track the impacts of climate change and other disturbances on marine biodiversity.
All plants and animals shed small amounts of DNA into their environment. For example, eDNA can be released from faeces/urine, sloughed skin cells/scales, decaying/dead matter, gametes (reproductive cells), mucus and blood. These organic particles linger in the environment, allowing for identification of hundreds of different fish, invertebrate, and plant species from a single scoop of seawater. By collecting and sequencing this eDNA, it is possible to generate a snap-shot of the organisms that inhabit a particular place and time, without the need to visually observe or measure each species.
eDNA analysis identifies the presence or absence of aquatic life and is a useful tool for monitoring biodiversity, as well as for detecting, rare, endangered, and invasive species. Importantly, eDNA sampling in the field is a non-invasive, non-destructive method for monitoring fish species. The use of eDNA can provide comparable data to conventional survey methods (beach seine, dive/snorkel etc), and often results in more species being detected. For example, visual surveys can easily miss species that are very small, fast moving, or camouflaged. Environmental DNA sampling is easy, fast, inexpensive, and is not dependent on taxonomic expertise. More importantly, eDNA sampling is now a method that can be used by anyone!
The process begins with the collection of a water sample using a bottle mounted onto a pole-sampler. The sample is then passed through a very fine filter (0.22 µm) to capture the free floating DNA fragments and separate them from the water. A preservation buffer is added to the filter and the samples are then stored in the freezer once received at the Hakai Genome Lab on Quadra Island. The next step is the extraction of the DNA from the filter which is carried out in a specially designed clean-room and then stored in a buffer solution and kept frozen. Because the DNA in the sample is in such low concentration, a PCR amplification step using a universal primer for fish, is carried out to generate millions of copies of each DNA strand. Once the sample has successfully amplified by PCR, the sample is run on the Illumina MiSeq Sequencer. This specialized instrument reads and records all of the DNA sequences in the sample. The sequences from each water sample are then matched to reference sequences from a genetic database. The end result is a list of fish species that are present in the area where each sample was collected.
Map of Fish Observations
Select all fish or a specific group to view where and when they have been observed.
Partners
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