“Hooked on Environmental DNA: Reeling in Community Scientists for Fisheries Monitoring of Offshore Wind Development” was presented on April 24 by Monmouth University Endowed Professor of Marine Science Jason Adolf, Urban Coast Institute Community Science Coordinator Erin Conlon, and Laboratory Intern Emma Najarian. The webinar was part of the Rutgers Cooperative Extension’s “Earth Day, Every Day” webinar series, which continues through June. Click here to view a schedule of upcoming sessions.
Environmental DNA (eDNA) provides a non-extractive method of monitoring fish community composition that can be done by community scientists and professionals alike. The presentation covered a fisheries monitoring program, run by Monmouth University and funded by the New Jersey Research and Monitoring Initiative (RMI), that employs eDNA analysis and includes a role for community scientists.