A team of scientists from the University of Southampton, Bangor University and the National Oceanography Centre have discovered several artificially introduced species in the coastal waters of southern England, using a technique that could help the early detection of non-native species if adopted more widely.
A team of scientists from the University of Southampton, Bangor University and the National Oceanography Centre have discovered several artificially introduced species in the coastal waters of southern England, using a technique that could help the early detection of non-native species if adopted more widely.
Among the species identified during the study was Cephalothrix simula, a worm, originating from the North West Pacific Ocean, which contains neurotoxins that are potentially fatal if they enter the human body.
The researchers, led by Luke Holman, a PhD student at the University of Southampton, collected water and sediment from four marinas around the UK and analysed the DNA of each sample to determine which species had been present in the ecosystems.
Organisms leave traces of their DNA in water systems through a variety of means, for example fish can lose scales and many species can release sperm or eggs during the spawning season. The team were able to extract this genetic material, known as environmental DNA (eDNA), and compare it to global DNA databases to identify the presence of species.
Read more at: University of Southampton
The Asian Date Mussel (Photo Credit: Luke Holman, University of Southampton)
