Evaluating an Autonomous eDNA Sampler for Marine Environmental Monitoring: Short- and Long-Term Applications

Evaluating an Autonomous eDNA Sampler for Marine Environmental Monitoring: Short- and Long-Term Applications We evaluated an autonomous environmental DNA sampler produced by Dartmouth Ocean Technologies Inc (Dartmouth, Canada) compared to time-at-sample filtration in the laboratory to determine the performance of moored samplers for monitoring in the marine world. We deployed three autonomous samplers from DOT in the Bedford Basin (Canada) over a nine-week period in summer/fall 2023. The samplers filtered seawater in situ at programmed interviews over this time period, and we collected contemporaneous samples with a standard vacuum pump during each sampling period. Both eDNA sample types captured similar fish diversity, including typical diversity for the Northwest Atlantic. The invertebrate community detected using the COI marker was different between each sample type, likely due to differences in filter pore size. We found biofouling on the moored samplers was minimal over the study period, even in a high-traffic area such as the Bedford Basin, likely due to the relatively short experimental period, and copper screening covering in the inlet and outlet valves of the instruments. Overall, our results show promise to deploy autonomous eDNA samplers in marine conservation areas to contribute to monitoring in the temperate ocean, but further testing over longer periods of time is needed to determine if DNA remains well-preserved in the autonomous samplers at ambient ocean temperatures. Cite this data as: Jeffery, N.W., Van Wyngaarden, M., and Stanley, R.R.E. Evaluating an Autonomous eDNA Sampler for Marine Environmental Monitoring: Short- and Long-Term Applications. Published: December 2024. Coastal Ecosystems Science Division, Maritimes Region, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth NS. 2025-01-10 Fisheries and Oceans Canada nick.jeffery@dfo-mpo.gc.ca Nature and EnvironmentScience and TechnologyMarine Conservation TargetPartnershipsMarine conservation areasOceansCoastal watersGeneticsNova Scotia Raw DNA sequencesHTML https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/PRJNA1139183 12S-ASV DNA sequencesZIP https://api-proxy.edh.azure.cloud.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/catalogue/records/436d5c50-8da6-483f-9705-91ecd6dc5c56/attachments/12S-ASV-dna-sequences.fasta COI-ASV DNA sequencesZIP https://api-proxy.edh.azure.cloud.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/catalogue/records/436d5c50-8da6-483f-9705-91ecd6dc5c56/attachments/COI-ASV-dna-sequences.fasta 12S taxonomyCSV https://api-proxy.edh.azure.cloud.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/catalogue/records/436d5c50-8da6-483f-9705-91ecd6dc5c56/attachments/12S_Taxonomy.csv DOTCOI taxonomyCSV https://api-proxy.edh.azure.cloud.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/catalogue/records/436d5c50-8da6-483f-9705-91ecd6dc5c56/attachments/DOTCOI_Taxonomy.csv Samples from DOT sampler and SmithRootFGDB/GDB https://api-proxy.edh.azure.cloud.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/catalogue/records/436d5c50-8da6-483f-9705-91ecd6dc5c56/attachments/Evaluating%20an%20Autonomous%20eDNA%20Sampler.gdb.zip Samples from DOT sampler and SmithRootCSV https://api-proxy.edh.azure.cloud.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/catalogue/records/436d5c50-8da6-483f-9705-91ecd6dc5c56/attachments/Samples_DOTSampler_SmithRoot.csv Data dictionaryCSV https://api-proxy.edh.azure.cloud.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/catalogue/records/436d5c50-8da6-483f-9705-91ecd6dc5c56/attachments/Data_dictionary.csv Evaluating an Autonomous eDNA Sampler for Marine Environmental Monitoring: Short- and Long-Term ApplicationsESRI REST https://egisp.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/arcgis/rest/services/open_data_donnees_ouvertes/evaluating_edna_sampler_marine_monitoring/MapServer Evaluating an Autonomous eDNA Sampler for Marine Environmental Monitoring: Short- and Long-Term ApplicationsESRI REST https://egisp.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/arcgis/rest/services/open_data_donnees_ouvertes/evaluating_edna_sampler_marine_monitoring/MapServer

We evaluated an autonomous environmental DNA sampler produced by Dartmouth Ocean Technologies Inc (Dartmouth, Canada) compared to time-at-sample filtration in the laboratory to determine the performance of moored samplers for monitoring in the marine world. We deployed three autonomous samplers from DOT in the Bedford Basin (Canada) over a nine-week period in summer/fall 2023. The samplers filtered seawater in situ at programmed interviews over this time period, and we collected contemporaneous samples with a standard vacuum pump during each sampling period. Both eDNA sample types captured similar fish diversity, including typical diversity for the Northwest Atlantic. The invertebrate community detected using the COI marker was different between each sample type, likely due to differences in filter pore size. We found biofouling on the moored samplers was minimal over the study period, even in a high-traffic area such as the Bedford Basin, likely due to the relatively short experimental period, and copper screening covering in the inlet and outlet valves of the instruments. Overall, our results show promise to deploy autonomous eDNA samplers in marine conservation areas to contribute to monitoring in the temperate ocean, but further testing over longer periods of time is needed to determine if DNA remains well-preserved in the autonomous samplers at ambient ocean temperatures.

Cite this data as: Jeffery, N.W., Van Wyngaarden, M., and Stanley, R.R.E. Evaluating an Autonomous eDNA Sampler for Marine Environmental Monitoring: Short- and Long-Term Applications. Published: December 2024. Coastal Ecosystems Science Division, Maritimes Region, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth NS.

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Contact Information

Delivery Point: Bedford Institute of Oceanography, 1 Challenger Drive, PO Box 1006

City: Dartmouth

Administrative Area: Nova Scotia

Postal Code: B2Y 4A2

Country: Canada

Electronic Mail Address: ryan.stanley@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

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