This is the method behind eDNA Expeditions, a citizen science initiative that measures marine biodiversity, and the impact of climate change on it, in UNESCO marine World Heritage sites. Since 2018, sampling has taken place at 21 of these sites, some of them particularly remote.
Science at the edge of the map
Among the most remote are the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (TAAF), close to Antarctica. The harsh climate makes a permanent human presence difficult; the archipelagos lie very far apart, and ships resupply them only about three times a year. Under these conditions, eDNA is especially valuable: it is non-invasive, it complements traditional surveys, and it reduces the need to take samples directly from organisms.
A first phase in 2022, covering four sites, detected 181 species and 418 taxa (groups of organisms that share common characteristics). The taxa figure is higher because not every detection can be identified down to species level.
Phase two: measuring change
In 2026, the TAAF are launching a second phase covering seven sites, including the four studied in 2022. Returning to the same locations will show how biodiversity is changing over time and whether new species have appeared.
Sampling is under way. The first samples are being collected in the Crozet Archipelago this month, while the UN Biodiversity Conference (CBD COP17) meets in Yerevan, Armenia, where governments are conducting the first global review of progress on the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
