“Despite the growing use of eDNA to catalog the presence and absence of species, a reliable link between the abundance of organisms and the quantity of DNA has remained elusive. In their paper, Nichols and Marko demonstrate that this new method tested on coral reefs in Hawaii is a quick and cost-effective way to measure live coral “cover,” the amount of a coral reef occupied by living corals. Because corals facilitate the presence of many other species on a reef, coral cover is one of several important measuring sticks that scientists use to characterize the status of a reef, an urgent task on reefs that are declining worldwide as a consequence of global climate change.”

Drone imagery of coral patches along the coast of Maunalua Bay, Oʻahu, where researchers in the Marko Lab use coral DNA from filtered seawater to assess coral cover on local reefs. Photo courtesy of Patrick K. Nichols.

New eDNA technology used to quickly assess coral reefs

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190417171033.htm