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Marine Biodiversity Library & MPA eDNA monitoring

[Image: Water sampling for eDNA in the proposed Northern Shelf Bioregion MPA Network in the traditional territories of the Gitga’at, Haisla, Gitxaała, and Kitasoo/Xai’xais Nations on the north-central coast of British Columbia, Canada. Panel A shows the CCGS Vector, Panel B shows the SBE 55 ECO mini-rosette water sampler, and Panel C shows the gravity-fed water filtration method.]

Biodiversity monitoring is a core tenet of conservation management and Canada’s conservation commitments. Canada has established a series of guidelines for Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) that emphasize the need for non-destructive, multi-species survey methods. Environmental (e)DNA metabarcoding is revolutionizing the field of biomonitoring. This project has initiated eDNA biomonitoring in MPAs and areas of interest in Canada’s Pacific and Atlantic regions to collect baseline data on species diversity and distributions. High quality and accessible reference DNA sequences are critical for the effectiveness of eDNA as a biomonitoring tool. This project is building a Canadian Marine DNA Library of expertly curated and high quality DNA reference sequences to support the uptake of eDNA results for science-based advice. Pairing the reference library with MPA biomonitoring surveys accelerates eDNA operationalization and supports Canada as a global leader in ocean conservation.

Marine Biodiversity Library & MPA eDNA monitoring was introduced in Webinar 1 of the OBON Network Spotlight series – view on YouTube.

Lead Institute
Collaborating institutes

Project period

1 April, 2022 – 31 March, 2026 

Joined OBON in April, 2024
Find out more about the project
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