Thursday April 23, 2026
PMEL —
Imagine being able to identify every fish, mammal, invertebrate, and microbe in a patch of the ocean just by sampling a single cup of water. Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding is a process that allows scientists to detect the genetic fingerprint left behind by marine organisms. While eDNA has become a valuable tool for monitoring ecosystem health, it has faced a major hurdle: how do we ensure that we accurately identify species from our eDNA sequences?
A new study co-authored by NOAA scientists at the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL), Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML), Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC), and Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC) provides a comprehensive set of best practices to solve this puzzle, making eDNA data ready for ocean conservation and fisheries management.