Abstract
The protection, preservation and restoration of aquatic ecosystems and their functions are of global importance. For European states it became legally binding mainly through the EUWater Framework Directive (WFD). In order to assess the ecological status of a given water body, aquatic biodiversity data are obtained and compared to a reference water body. The quantified mismatch obtained determines the extent of potential management actions. The current approach to biodiversity assessment is based on morpho-taxonomy. This approach has many drawbacks such as being time consuming, limited in temporal and spatial resolution, and error-prone due to the varying individual taxonomic expertise of the analysts. Novel genomic tools can overcome many of the aforementioned problems and could complement or even replace traditional bioassessment. Yet, a plethora of approaches are independently developed in different institutions, thereby hampering any concerted routine application. The goal of this Action is to nucleate a group of researchers across disciplines with the task to identify gold-standard genomic tools and novel ecogenomic indices for routine application in biodiversity assessments of European fresh- and marine water bodies. Furthermore, DNAqua-Net will provide a platform for training of the next generation of European researchers preparing them for the new technologies. Jointly with water managers, politicians, and other stakeholders, the group will develop a DNAqua-Net: Developing new genetic tools for bioassessment and monitoring ... 3 conceptual framework for the standard application of eco-genomic tools as part of legally binding assessments.
Highlights
This Action is timely for the following reasons: 1) More efficient tools are urgently needed in the context of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) to improve environmental management, and 2) Europe should establish itself as the global leader in environmental genomic techniques
Complementing ongoing environmental assessment programs with such tools to counteract biodiversity loss is of utmost relevance. This has already been realized by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which has implemented a roadmap for the inclusion of DNA-based methods in water quality assessments since 2011
The general public will be involved in the dissemination of the results of the Action network to raise awareness of water quality issues. This will be done through citizen science events such as Action days at which members of DNAqua-Net show how the new assessment methods work in real world scenarios
Summary
This Action aims to advance the application of DNA-based tools and develop a roadmap to include them in the standardised ecological assessment of aquatic ecosystems in Europe and beyond, thereby optimising environmental management and improving nature conservation. DNA barcoding uses short standardised gene fragments of organisms allowing an unequivocal assignment to species level based on sequence data. A central advantage of the HTS eDNA approach is that it provides information about the overall biodiversity, including small-sized organisms and cryptic species that cannot be recognised morphologically This enormously increases the range of potential bioindicators compared to the traditional methods that are currently limited to few specific taxonomic groups such as fish, selected macroinvertebrates, and diatoms. DNAqua-Net will bring together researchers across disciplines to identify good-practice procedures for routine applications of genomic tools and to develop novel eco-genomic indices for assessment of European water bodies It will provide a foundation for subsequent collaborations in the context of environmental management
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