DURIP: Automated and Extended Depth Environmental DNA Sampling Devices
Abstract
Our ongoing ONR-funded research (MURI Award N00014-22-1-2719) aims to understand the transport, persistence, and distribution of environmental DNA (eDNA) in marine environments from marine mammal targets. We focus this work at multiple spatial, vertical, and temporal scales along the U.S. west coast, with the longer-term goal of improving the operational awareness of marine mammals for the U.S. Navy. In relevant part, the project experimentally characterizes eDNA in the marine environment and develops models to hindcast source locations using eDNA detections throughout the water column. A substantial element of the project is a collaboration between biologists and oceanographers, linking a high-resolution oceanographic model of water movement with observations of DNA from known point sources of mammals (Atlantic bottlenose dolphins; Tursiops truncatus) in the well-characterized environment of the Bangor Naval Base. Adequately parameterizing an oceanographic model requires sampling over time and along all three spatial dimensions. Given thelogistical constraints of the project (see below), we are requesting DURIP support to purchase hand-deployable and automated instruments to sample eDNA from depths 20 # 200m, well beyond the depths accessible with our current setup. Without sampling from these depths, we will have no direct way of constraining some of the parameters of our overarching model (notably, the settling term); support from DURIP will accordingly offer our study greatly improved resolution in space and time.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Nov 08, 2024
- Source ID
- N000142412588
Entities
People
- Elizabeth Allan
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University of Washington