Complementary funding codes: 3899 - Other EU initiatives out of framework
Acronym: GEANS
Period: March 2019 till June 2023
Status: Completed
Thesaurus terms Dna sequencing; Environmental management; Environmental monitoring; Population, ecological and evolutionary genetics
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- Instituut voor Landbouw-, Visserij- en Voedingsonderzoek (ILVO), more, co-ordinator
- Vlaams Instituut voor de Zee (VLIZ), more, partner
- Deneudt, Klaas, co-promotor
- Hablützel, Pascal, partner
- Delacauw, Sander, partner
- Mortelmans, Jonas, partner
- Lagaisse, Rune, partner
- Heynderickx, Hanneloor
- University of Aarhus; Department of Geoscience, more, partner
- Senckenberg Nature Research Society (SGN), more, partner
- Naturalis Biodiversity Center (NBC), more, partner
- Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), more, partner
- Wageningen University and Research Centre; University of Wageningen; Animal Sciences Group, more, partner
- Nord University, more, partner
- SeAnalytics, more, partner
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| Sustainable use and management of marine resources is key for good ecosystem health. Monitoring for ecosystem health assessments is currently based on morphological species identification, which is time-consuming, labor-intensive and skills reliant. DNA-based tools promise cheaper, faster and more accurate methods, yet, different approaches between countries are used which hamper standard routine application. The Interreg NSR project GEANS, therefore aims to: 1. Develop joint time- and cost-reducing genetic monitoring tools that feed into existing indicators to assess North Sea ecosystem health 2. Implement standardized genetic tools and SOPs in routine biological assessments 3. Develop a framework to apply and implement DNA-based tools in policy and transnational management of the North Sea Region. Set-up of an open DNA sequence library, linking DNA to species, will guarantee continuity of traditional assessment series. Real time pilot studies, in close cooperation with managers, policymakers and involved stakeholders, will deliver proof of concept on the added value of genetic approaches in environmental health management. These pilots cover environmental impact assessments (EIAs) for human activities (renewable energy, aquaculture and aggregate dredging) and environmental monitoring for e.g. non-indigenous species (NIS) in the framework of EU directives (MSFD and Natura2000). The data generated within the different pilots will feed into biotic indicators to translate the outputs into simple information needed by national authorities to make sound management decisions. Sustainable use and management of the North Sea Region (NSR) natural resources remains a grand challenge. The NSR has a rich and diverse natural environment delivering many ecosystem goods and services to society, such as food provision, coastal protection and climate regulation. Stimulated by the EU Blue Growth Agenda, human use of the NS is increasing and diversifying. Both new and existing activities contribute to employment and economic welfare, but they also increase the pressure on the marine environment, thereby threatening ecosystem health (e.g. transport, renewable energy, exploitation of living and mineral resources, introduction of non-indigenous species). To conserve and improve NSR ecosystem health, proper management measures need to be taken, which depend on fast and accurate monitoring. |
- Van den Bulcke, L.; De Backer, A.; Wittoeck, J.; Beentjes, K.; Maes, S.; Christodoulou, M.; Martinez Arbizu, P.; Sapkota, R.; van der Hoorn, B.; Winding, A.; Hostens, K.; Derycke, S. (2023). DNA metabarcoding on repeat: sequencing data of marine macrobenthos are reproducible and robust across labs and protocols. Ecol. Indic. 150: 110207. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2023.110207, more
- Derycke, S.; Beentjes, K.; Christodoulou, M.; Hansen, J.L.S.; Khodami, S.; Kröncke, I.; Arbizu, P.M.; Sapkota, R.; Staehr, P.A.U.; Van den Bulcke, L.; Winding, A.; De Backer, A. (2023). DNA-based monitoring of soft sediments. Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO): Ostend. 57 pp., more
- Martaeng, R.; Obst, M.; Kuklinski, P. (2023). Phylogeographic study using autonomous reef monitoring structures indicates fast range expansion of the invasive bryozoan Juxtacribrilina mutabilis. Hydrobiologia 2023: 1-12. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10750-023-05184-9, more
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