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S2 E7: eDNA with Ryan Kelly
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In this episode of FieldSound, we hear from Ryan Kelly, professor in the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs. Trained as both an ecologist and a lawyer, Kelly brings a unique perspective to his research at the boundaries of marine science and real-world environmental law and policy. He works closely with federal agencies and currently serves on a national task force that aims to move science into practice at a federal level.
A major focus of Kelly's research involves environmental DNA, or eDNA, which is genetic material shed by organisms that is released into the environment. It can be collected from a variety of environmental samples, such as soil or seawater, with the idea that as organisms interact in the environment, their DNA will accumulate in their surroundings. Kelly explains that now we can take a cup of seawater, for example, sequence the DNA out of it, and see what lives nearby — we can see hundreds of thousands of species, all at once.
Now, the challenge is to make sense of all this data. Kelly also is the director of the eDNA Collaborative, which aims to move the use of eDNA out of the lab and into practice in real-world environmental management and conservation.
Some ways it's already being used: In Puget Sound, using eDNA to look at the impacts of urbanization on the nearshore environment; measuring the effects of culvert restoration for salmon in Washington state; and surveying the edges of the invasion of European green crab in Washington.
The Collaborative has awarded 130 "microgrants" to people in 40 different countries in its goal to make this technology and knowledge more accessible.
Kelly also discusses his recent co-authored work, "Between the Tides," which offers readers a comprehensive guide to the beaches and tidepools of Washington, Oregon and California, enriching our understanding of coastal marine ecology.
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