On the morning of 13 September, Julian Burgos, researcher in Marine Research Institute Iceland and Scientific Manager of the BioProtect project, gave a presentation of BioProtect to students from the University of Iceland.
Later that same day, Sæmundur Sveinsson (Research Group Leader in Matís Iceland) together with students collected eDNA samples in Reykjavík’s harbour.
The aim of this sampling was to demonstrate the effectiveness of eDNA sampling conducted by citizens/untrained people to monitor invasive species in the harbour area. Invasive species are one of the 5 major threats to biodiversity and harbours are known as a hotspot for invasive species in the marine environment. The samples will be analysed in the genetics laboratory of Matís using established protocols.
