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Monitoring marine pollution effects through targeted environmental DNA (eDNA) testing in the Pacific northwest
Neha Acharya-Patel1, Karen Cram2, Emma T Groenwold1
1Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia (BC) V8P 2C2, Canada.
Marine Pollution Bulletin
|April 28, 2025
Summary
Environmental DNA (eDNA) assays offer a scalable alternative to traditional methods for monitoring marine pollution. These new assays effectively detect pollution-sensitive benthic indicator taxa, enhancing coastal water quality assessments.
Area of Science:
- Marine ecology
- Environmental monitoring
- Molecular biology
Background:
- Coastal waters face degradation from various pollution sources, impacting benthic ecosystems.
- Benthic infaunal taxa serve as indicators of organic enrichment and pollution stress.
- Traditional macroinfauna assessment is labor-intensive and requires taxonomic expertise.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate environmental DNA (eDNA) assays for detecting key benthic indicator taxa.
- To assess the efficacy of eDNA detection methods in a real-world marine outfall monitoring scenario.
- To compare different eDNA sample collection strategies for macroinfaunal monitoring.
Main Methods:
- Generated full mitogenome sequences of indicator macroinfaunal polychaetes using whole genome shotgun sequencing.
- Designed and validated five quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) based eDNA assays.
- Collected and analyzed eDNA samples from nine sites near a wastewater treatment plant outfall using three distinct methods.
- Employed generalized linear models and occupancy modeling to analyze eDNA signal strength and detection probabilities.
Main Results:
- Developed sensitive eDNA assays capable of detecting low levels of target DNA.
- eDNA signal strength correlated with macroinfaunal organism counts, especially with passive dip sampling.
- Occupancy modeling provided reliable estimates of detection probabilities linked to organism abundance.
- Demonstrated the feasibility of integrating eDNA into marine outfall monitoring.
Conclusions:
- eDNA assays provide a scalable, reliable, and cost-effective alternative to conventional macroinfauna monitoring.
- Passive dip eDNA sampling shows promise for correlating signal strength with organism abundance.
- Integrating eDNA methods can significantly enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of marine pollution monitoring programs.
