Media Releases and Opportunities

This summer, a network of citizen scientists and Dalhousie University researchers will fan out across Nova Scotia to gather samples of seawater that will identify which species are just off our shores and how that may change over time as ocean temperatures warm and marine life shifts north.

The Community-Oriented Coastal Observatory (COCO) was started by students and faculty in Dalhousie's Department of Biology and will be made up of Nova Scotia residents interested in helping monitor changes in marine animal life off eastern Canada.

Volunteers in six communities throughout the province will gather the seawater samples, run them through a porous filter and send that free-of-charge to the team, led by PhD candidate Samantha Beal. The researchers will use environmental (e)DNA analysis to identify the animals found in those coastal ecosystems, with a single sample capable of containing traces of multiple species.

The process offers a simple, non-invasive way to study marine biodiversity, which would traditionally involve boats, nets and hours of fieldwork at great expense. Now, instead of catching animals, the team collects the tiny traces of DNA they leave behind in the water.

Beal is available to discuss the project and how by repeating this seasonally, year after year, the team can build a strong baseline to determine how things are changing off our coasts as the waters warm.

* Please visit the COCO Instagram page (@coco.e.dna) for more information on how to participate and public information sessions next month in several communities, including Yarmouth, Liverpool, Sheet Harbour, Louisbourg and Canso.

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Media contact:

Alison Auld
Senior Research Reporter
Dalhousie University
Cell: 1-902-220-0491
Email: alison.auld@dal.ca