Genetics
Genetic analyses compliment both the light trap and ARMS components of the project to further investigate marine invertebrate communities and patterns.
Genetic Approaches
By barcoding individual species we can to contribute to the Barcode of Life Database, a library of known DNA sequences which can be used to identify a species from small fragments of DNA in seawater called environmental DNA or eDNA.
Metabarcoding ‘bulk’ material sampled from the ARMS units will provide us with thousands of snippets of DNA which, using the Barcode of Life Database, we can use to identify who settled on the ARMS units.
We can also metabarcode water samples to paint a picture of what species are in the water around our stations as part of Hakai's Integrated Coastal Observatory
Barcode of Life Species Gallery
