What is it about?

The growing human footprint in the oceans potentially threatens marine life and human well-being. Assessing and managing threats asks for timely, locally relevant information on the abundance and distribution of marine life. We show that ranking top ten fish species by DNA in seawater suffices to characterize marine habitats, identify seasonal and long-term changes in fish populations, and that findings are consistent with established survey methods.

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Why is it important?

Current ocean biomonitoring methods are limited by cost, inaccessibility of many sites, and are often destructive. Environmental DNA methods are potentially universally applicable and affordable.

Perspectives

As a naturalist I am struck by how ocean life is largely hidden from view. Environmental DNA offers a new window into ocean life. Every time we get new DNA results it is like opening a present!

Mark Stoeckle
Rockefeller University

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This page is a summary of: A potential tool for marine biogeography: eDNA-dominant fish species differ among coastal habitats and by season concordant with gear-based assessments, PLoS ONE, November 2024, PLOS,
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0313170.
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