discussion / eDNA & Genomics  / 15 December 2015

eDNA sampling to detect invasive snails in shipping ballast water

An interesting paper by Ardura et al in the Oxford Journal of Molluscan Studies on the application of eDNA technologies for detecting the presence of invasive molluscs in the ballast water tanks of ships.

The authors discuss the potential of environmental DNA analysis for in-transit biodiversity screening and risk assessments, and explore current limitations of the approach.