{"id":29386,"date":"2026-07-20T14:44:27","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T18:44:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/uci\/?p=29386"},"modified":"2026-09-01T10:53:17","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T14:53:17","slug":"june-edna-samples-show-migration-of-fish-species-into-local-rivers-and-bays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/uci\/2026\/07\/20\/june-edna-samples-show-migration-of-fish-species-into-local-rivers-and-bays\/","title":{"rendered":"Summer eDNA Samples Show Migration of Fish Species into Local Rivers and Bays"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Video: eDNA Fish Research Community Science Workshop\" loading=\"lazy\"  style='width: 500px; height: 281px;' src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/FzZj9DKsRfE?feature=oembed&#038;rel=0&#038;rel=0\"  allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Beach tourists weren\u2019t the only ones crowding the Jersey Shore in June. An analysis of environmental DNA (eDNA) in water samples from beaches and estuaries in Monmouth and Middlesex counties found that the number of fish species roaming the waters scaled up to 79 from the 68 detected during a similar effort in the fall.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"456\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/uci\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/58\/2026\/07\/june-26-sites-sm.jpg\" alt=\"A map with numbered points indicating the numbers of fish detected in ocean sites (shown as squares) and estuary sites (shown as circles) along the New Jersey coast. \" class=\"wp-image-29392\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/uci\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/58\/2026\/07\/june-26-sites-sm.jpg 456w, https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/uci\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/58\/2026\/07\/june-26-sites-sm-232x300.jpg 232w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 456px) 100vw, 456px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Last month, volunteer community scientists collected samples of ocean waters, bays, and brackish areas of rivers at 24 sites from the Manasquan Inlet to the Raritan Bayshore. The samples were then analyzed by the Monmouth University Urban Coast Institute (UCI) in a lab for eDNA, trace genetic materials floating in the water that can indicate the recent presence of marine organisms. The data is building upon <a href=\"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/uci\/2025\/12\/02\/community-scientists-set-the-barcode-for-future-fish-surveys-in-monmouth-county-waters\/\">a collection effort that began in September<\/a>, and is being used to develop a baseline understanding of the species living in our waters throughout the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The results of the research were revealed at a July 14 workshop on campus. A recording of the presentation is available above. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A particular increase in richness was seen in the county\u2019s estuaries, which recorded numbers that were nearly equal to those in the ocean sites. In the fall, the ocean samples carried a far higher species richness than the rivers and bays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The estuarine sites with the highest numbers of fish detections were near the mouth of Cheesequake Creek on the Raritan Bay (42) and Maclearie Park on the Shark River Bay in Belmar (39). The counts on beaches were highest in Long Branch (39) and Sandy Hook (34).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe believe what\u2019s happening is that there are seasonal migrants coming into the estuarine environment, which is a well-documented phenomenon in our area,\u201d UCI Resilience and Outreach Project Lead Richard Kane said. \u201cOne paper estimates that 82.5 percent of ecologically important marine fish in the Mid-Atlantic Bight use estuaries at some point in their life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the ocean, menhaden and river herring species, which are difficult to distinguish through eDNA, accounted for roughly a quarter of the fish detected, followed by butterfish (14 percent), and mummichog (11 percent). In the estuaries, mummichog (28 percent) and Atlantic silverside (25 percent) accounted for over half of the detections.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/uci\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/58\/2026\/07\/Community_science_presentation_of_results_SU26-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"Two pie chart diagrams showing which of several dozen fish species were found most commonly in ocean and estuarine waters. The illustration has a headline reading &quot;Teleost Community Composition.&quot;\" class=\"wp-image-29393\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/uci\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/58\/2026\/07\/Community_science_presentation_of_results_SU26-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/uci\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/58\/2026\/07\/Community_science_presentation_of_results_SU26-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/uci\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/58\/2026\/07\/Community_science_presentation_of_results_SU26-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/uci\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/58\/2026\/07\/Community_science_presentation_of_results_SU26.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kane pointed to the detections of sand lance (5 percent in the ocean, 2 percent in the ocean) as an example of eDNA\u2019s potential as a tool for researching fish community composition. He said that because sand lances are so elusive \u2013 they swim at full speed into the sand and hide there when they sense predators \u2013 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration tends to avoid studying them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIn order to detect all these things the traditional way, you\u2019d need an armada of boats, traps, trawls, and nets, but we can find it all in the bottles of water you\u2019re sampling,\u201d Monmouth University Endowed Professor of Marine Science Jason Adolf told the audience. \u201cThat\u2019s the efficiency of this method for the purpose of studying biodiversity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The research is being supported with funding secured by Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. Volunteers are being sought for the next phase of sampling, which will likely take place around October. To learn more, contact Kane at <a href=\"mailto:rkane@monmouth.edu\">rkane@monmouth.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Beach tourists weren\u2019t the only ones crowding the Jersey Shore in June. An analysis of environmental DNA (eDNA) in water samples from beaches and estuaries in Monmouth and Middlesex counties found that the number of fish species roaming the waters scaled up to 79 from the 68 detected during a similar effort in the fall.&nbsp; [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":86,"featured_media":29389,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-09-23 18:51:49","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/uci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/uci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/uci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/uci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/86"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/uci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29386"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/uci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29386\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29648,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/uci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29386\/revisions\/29648"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/uci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/uci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/uci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/uci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}