And that’s a wrap on #UKDNAWG26 with the sad news that @andynisbet.bsky.social is stepping down as chair of the steering committee. Huge thanks to Andy for all of his efforts, guidance and support over the years that have got the working group to where it is today!
Ben Price @nhm-london.bsky.social takes us through high-throughput museomics and the cost reductions that can be made for generating reference sequences, and Mind the Gap, a tool for perform reference database gap analysis against species inventories #UKDNAWG26
Tom Hughes presents LIMPET - a new pipeline for detecting erroneous sequences in reference databases for #metabarcoding. Some databases contain more errors than others, but even highly curated databases can contain errors that will impact taxonomic assignment and ecological inference #UKDNAWG26
Zoe Withey @forestresearchuk.bsky.social on integration of Earth Observation + molecular data for ecosystem monitoring. Most work in 🇪🇺 or 🇺🇸 using #metabarcoding + satellite data with predictive modelling for biodiversity or genetics. Lots of opportunity once gaps + needs addressed #UKDNAWG26
Nice talk by @rdowell.bsky.social @marianilab.bsky.social on reconstructing food webs using #metabarcoding of #eDNA and gut contents combined with stable isotope analysis. Sampling in 🇮🇹🇬🇧🇮🇸 across different spatiotemporal scales to ground truth approach and compare/contrast food webs #UKDNAWG26
Nadia Maula (left) and Inês Silva by their posters at the 12th UK DNA WG meeting in Sheffield
Keep an eye on #NadiaMaula and #InesSilva - two rising stars who will change the complexion of their respective fields
#UKDNAWG26
Some links here:
www.mariani-lab.org/our-team
Great talk by @clarecowgill.bsky.social on using #eDNA and #acoustic data to understand ecosystem recovery. Functional analysis and metaweb networks offer deeper insights than richness alone into ecosystem-level change. Trends not always clear cut with single method #UKDNAWG26
Cool talk by @jamesmacarthur.bsky.social on #beaver #eDNA transport. Sample in winter to understand if beavers are present in wider landscape due to long transport distance. Sample in summer to understand localised distribution in a catchment due to shorter transport distance #UKDNAWG26
Nice talk by Marco Benucci on using honeybees as natural samplers for environmental monitoring. Distribution of plant pathogen TiNV1 more widespread in Scotland and England than previously thought using samples from honeybees #UKDNAWG26
Left to right: Stefano Mariani, Rosie Dowell, Nadia Maula, Giulia Maiello, Alice Cunnington, Ines Silva, Jake Hebb, Erika Neave
Present, past, transitioning, guest members of the lab!
#UKDNAWG26
@ukdnawg.bsky.social
Fab talk by Nathan Griffiths on invertebrate #eDNA #metabarcoding for statutory #lake assessment in Scotland. Initial results are promising for high quality sites, but low quality sites may be overestimated by #eDNA. Also need to consider reference database coverage and sampling effort #UKDNAWG26
8 yrs ago today at a DNAqua-net workshop in 🇦🇹, the single species #eDNA validation scale was born + soon evolved into key guidance for the #eDNA community (onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...). Nice to be reunited with some coauthors at #UKDNAWG26 ! @bettinathal.bsky.social @katbruce.bsky.social
Nice talk by Ruaidhri Forrester on using #eDNA #metabarcoding to locate #coregonid spawning grounds. High read counts correspond to locations of known spawning grounds in spawning season. Relationship spatially explicit and not seen outside spawning season, but not consistent across lakes #UKDNAWG26
Vera Fonseca @cefasgovuk.bsky.social showing that #eDNA and #eRNA #metabarcoding detect different biodiversity across habitats and sample types in coastal systems #UKDNAWG26
Tom Gibson @cefasgovuk.bsky.social showed some nice #eDNA #metabarcoding data depicting ecological signals across sites in North Sea. Several variables influence community composition and associated with indicator taxa. Important to consider sequence read depth for studying composition #UKDNAWG26
Great talk by Erika Neave on DNA divers. - low-cost, #citsci passive #eDNA sampling using #metaprobe attached to divers. #eDNA boosted species records for 2 rocky reefs + revealed ecological signals. Anyone in Vancouver 🇨🇦 looking for a fab #postdoc or research tech, Erika is available! #UKDNAWG26
Startled Stefano in the conference room of the 12th UK DNA WG meeting in Sheffield
Nice to reconnect with the ebullient #UKDNAWG community!
#UKDNAWG26
@ukdnawg.bsky.social
@jlittlefair.bsky.social presents initial results of MSc project on vertical distribution of airborne #eDNA. Strong potential to better understand biodiversity across tree of life but improvements to sensor and further investigations needed #UKDNAWG26
David Bass @cefasgovuk.bsky.social discusses potential of #eDNA in One Health Framework to better engage people with #nature by enhancing existing metrics and creating new metrics, but needs science-policy interface #UKDNAWG26
@debbiele.bsky.social and Max John from @naturalengland.bsky.social highlight the importance of metadata for mobilising DNA-derived species occurrence data and work undertaken with @nbntrust.bsky.social over last year to facilitate upload in line with FAIR principles #UKDNAWG26
📢 Calling all #eDNA folks!!
🧬 Abstract submission is open for the #UKEOF UKDNA Working Group Conference 2026 #UKDNAWG26!
🧬 Submit your Abstract via this link! forms.gle/epwnz5PFdrrt...
