eDNA and Kelp Forest Biodiversity
Environmental DNA: A Dynamic Approach to Characterize and Monitor the Array of Life
The Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary is one of the largest in the National Marine Sanctuary System. The sanctuary encompasses 4,543 square miles of Central California’s coastal and ocean waters, providing protection to natural, cultural, and historical resources. The CHNMS is home to a stunning diversity of habitats and plant and animal species long integral to the health and wellbeing of coastal communities. Utilizing environmental DNA (eDNA) involves gathering samples of soil, water, rock, sand, air and any other physical substrate and then sequencing DNA to characterize assemblages of species and their genetic variants. The power of this approach comes from a combination of its universality, breadth, and efficiency. It can be used to study the tree of life, from viruses to whales, and it is able to detect a greater number of species with a lower sampling effort than other survey methods. A vast amount of data can be retrieved from eDNA samples, and perhaps most notably, no animals are captured, distressed, or harmed in the process. The eDNA approach has the potential to complement other research efforts and strengthen our baseline understanding of the diversity and vitality of this unique coastline going forward.
Traditional Ecological Knowledge Meets eDNA
We have partnered with Northern Chumash tribal leaders and other experts to elucidate the relationship between traditional and scientific knowledge and to co-design various projects. Throughout the work, we will engage students, fishermen, and others in collecting and interpreting the data, and seek insight on the historical context for patterns in species distributions, including what is known from cultural heritage sites, museum exhibits, ethno-botany records, oral histories, and other cultural records. Through such collaboration and knowledge sharing, we hope to paint a much richer picture of coastal biodiversity.
Analysis & Outputs
We use DNA metabarcoding of bulk DNA extracts from cobbles and water samples to explore patterns of species diversity in kelp forests within, and outside, of the CHNMS boundaries. This analysis allows us to produce a detailed geography for hundreds of coastal species, including identifying biodiversity ‘hotspots and coldspots’, as well as exploring the features of the ecosystem and food webs. We will track species ranges and abundances across the biogeographic break at Point Conception—one of the strongest climactic species-level abundance shifts—to detect non-native species invasions from southern coasts and link such dynamics to warming and potential climate-driven changes in upwelling patterns. We will test the impacts of the marine reserves by studying if species abundances vary over latitude differently inside or outside the reserve boundaries.
