Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/M021696/1
High-throughput, DNA-based biodiversity assessment and detection for the environmental consultancy market
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Professor DW Yu, University of East Anglia, Biological Sciences
- Grant held at:
- University of East Anglia, Biological Sciences
- Science Area:
- Atmospheric
- Earth
- Freshwater
- Marine
- Terrestrial
- Overall Classification:
- Unknown
- ENRIs:
- Biodiversity
- Environmental Risks and Hazards
- Global Change
- Natural Resource Management
- Pollution and Waste
- Science Topics:
- Conservation Ecology
- Assess/Remediate Contamination
- Survey & Monitoring
- Environmental Genomics
- Water Quality
- Abstract:
- Does a proposed housing development contain protected species? Has a mining operation polluted a watershed? How can we be certain that the organic fruit we pay extra for is from nature-friendly farms? Which restoration treatment is most effective at restoring brownfield sites? Industries that have a large impact on the environment, such as mining, oil & gas, agriculture, aquaculture, and construction, need to measure the 'state of nature' as part of their operations, because failure to detect environmental damage is a source of reputational risk and legal liability, while success in protecting the environment can enhance reputation and result in premium pricing. However, environmental surveys are notoriously difficult to carry out because nature is diverse, and most species are difficult to detect, especially out of season, and to identify reliably and quickly. The standard method of identifying species by their morphologies consumes expensive field time for collections, requires scarce taxonomic expertise, is error-prone and difficult to standardise over long time series, and most importantly, is nearly impossible to verify to third parties, which impedes dispute resolution. The good news is that the world is permeated with DNA molecules that have been liberated from their original owners in the form of skin, mucous, saliva, sperm, eggs, faeces, urine, blood, secretions, roots, leaves, fruit, pollen, and rotting bodies, which is collectively known as environmental DNA or eDNA. It is also straightforward to collect and to extract DNA from bulk samples of plant material and mass-trapped arthropods (including the DNA of mammals and other vertebrates from blood that has been stolen by parasitic invertebrates). Recent technological advances have now made it feasible to read biodiversity from eDNA and bulk samples, giving us lists of hundreds to thousands of animal, plant, or fungal species, which can reveal the presence of protected and/or undesirable species. Also, changes in species lists tell us when the environment has changed for the better or for the worse, letting us detect pollution events, assess the outcome of restoration interventions, and track the state of nature in general. These DNA-based methods are many times faster than even expert taxonomists and are powerful at detecting hidden species. As a result, DNA-based methods promise to greatly reduce the costs of environmental monitoring while also increasing information content. This combination will confer competitive and reputational advantages on businesses able to take advantage of this new set of technologies. In 2012, the estimated global market for Environmental Consultancy was $27.4B, and the estimated UK market was #1.32B, of which #219M was spent on Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA), an 11.9% growth over 2011. In 2014, Natural England galvanised the consultancy sector by announcing that it would accept eDNA evidence to detect the endangered Great Crested Newt (a European Protected Species that features heavily in EIAs), due to eDNA's greater speed and reliability compared with visual surveys. We propose to start a company, NatureMetrics, that will provide a range of DNA-based environmental services on a white-label basis to environmental consultancies. We will use FoF funding to set up business and laboratory procedures so that we can reliably process large numbers of samples with rapid turnaround time and at lower costs. We have partnered with four UK environmental consultancies, and our four partners will market these services within their own product lines, which will increase the effectiveness of environmental management in general. Keywords: Biodiversity; biomonitoring; metabarcoding; mitogenomics; environmental DNA; pollution; freshwater; protected species; pollinators; environmental consultancy; infrastructure and construction; mining; oil & gas; water quality; agriculture; horticulture; forestry; conservation organisations
- Period of Award:
- 30 Jun 2015 - 29 Jun 2016
- Value:
- £81,085 Lead Split Award
Authorised funds only
- NERC Reference:
- NE/M021696/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Innovation
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Follow on Fund
This grant award has a total value of £81,085
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| DI - Other Costs | Indirect - Indirect Costs | DA - Investigators | DI - Staff | DA - Estate Costs | DA - Other Directly Allocated | DI - T&S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £12,904 | £32,168 | £1,515 | £32,603 | £265 | £17 | £1,613 |
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