COBRA Webinar – May 2026
Understanding deep sea biodiversity with eDNA
Dr. Annette Govindarajan (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) and Dr. Santiago Herrera (Lehigh University)
This webinar will explore the application of eDNA analyses to characterize deep-sea animal diversity. We will discuss eDNA technology, the importance of the “ecology of eDNA” including transport and dispersal processes, and how methodological choices like sampling volume, primer specificity, and reference library completeness influence our ability to accurately geolocate and identify deep-sea taxa. We will highlight recent collaborative efforts to operationalize eDNA analysis as a tool for monitoring the impacts of human activities, such as deep-sea mining, on these remote ecosystems.
This webinar was not recorded, however some of the unpublished work shared in the talk is now available as a preprint in bioRxiv and entered in the peer-review process:
- Herrera, S., Govindarajan, A. F., Allan, E. A., Francolini, R., Frates, E., McCartin, L., Pittoors, N. C., Sengthep, M., Stover, S., Vohsen, S., & Yang, N. 2026. Depth-dependent eDNA abundances across ecosystems inform deep-sea sampling strategies. In bioRxiv (p. 2026.05.12.724363). DOI: 10.64898/2026.05.12.724363.
