eDNA and eDNA Explorer
What is eDNA Explorer
eDNA Explorer is a powerful tool that brings together eDNA projects from around the world. It allows beginners and experts alike to explore data using a common format, get their raw project data analyzed, and compare eDNA data with data gathered from traditional biomonitoring methods. By helping everyone understand the biodiversity that eDNA uncovers and specifically helping researchers to share methods and results, eDNA Explorer aims to remove the barriers to using eDNA as a tool for biodiversity understanding. We hope that this platform will increase the trust and confidence in eDNA as a method to better our understanding of the living world. Join the fun and start exploring!
What is eDNA?
Environmental DNA, or eDNA for short, is the genetic material left behind by organisms in the environment. DNA can be shed many different ways including via feces, dead skin or fur, leaves, pollen, mucus, and more. These genetic clues are gathered in water, soil, sediment, ethanol, air or surface samples and analyzed using DNA sequencing to explore which organisms were in the area. This non-invasive method is especially powerful when used to detect hard to see, endangered, or invasive species across the entire tree of life. Learn more about eDNA to start your journey as an eDNA detective!
How can eDNA help my project?
eDNA is not a superpower, but rather, a high-powered tool that helps us find species, while being non-invasive and often cheaper than traditional methods like seines and camera traps. Instead of physically catching or seeing the critters, we just need them to leave a little DNA behind as they pass through the environment. This means we can get a more accurate understanding of what species are around us even if the organism has wandered away without causing too much disturbance.
What happens if I have endangered species in my data?
We have obscured the locations of species designated as ‘near threatened’ or worse on the IUCN database to avoid causing them further harm. We recognize there are many threatened species that are not yet on the IUCN list, as well as bioindicators of threatened species. For this reason, we made it possible to keep your project private to just your research team that you invite, so you can check for sensitive information before you publish your project. As we evolve the website, we will be building in more functionality to hide sensitive information according to the preferences of the research team and regulatory agencies.
What if I have sites that I want to keep hidden?
This may be the case if you are monitoring sensitive areas, or if you don’t want your monitoring locations to be publicized because people will change their behavior (like fishing) to avoid monitoring locations. You may also want to obscure the location where samples were collected if they are on some private land where the owner does not want the location known. The best way to obscure the location of a sampling site is to enter only a general location in the GPS coordinates, such as using no decimal spaces, and then you can add a large number of meters in the ‘uncertainty’ field in the metadata (the buffer around your sampling point that the true sampling location could fall into). You can alternatively avoid entering the GPS coordinates altogether. Coordinates removal means you won’t receive any of our expanded metadata layers for your samples, so you will limit the function of the alpha and beta diversity analyses we make available on your project page. Another option, as we’ve mentioned before, is to keep your project private.
Source document: Google Doc