[Coral-List] Special issue eDNA & Metabarcoding in Marine Systems

[Matthieu Leray]

Dear coral-listers,

We are inviting submissions to a Special Issue (SI) of the journal
Diversity entitled “*Environmental DNA and Metabarcoding in Marine Systems*”
https://www.mdpi.com/journal/diversity/special_issues/environmental_DNA_marine#editors

This Special Issue is an opportunity to highlight work in this rapidly
expanding field. Our focus on marine systems is designed to bring together
a suite of papers on the topic that will garner attention. The deadline for
submission is June 30th, 2020 but early submissions are encouraged and will
be published as they come.

Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818) is an open access journal. Publishing fees are
1400 CHF which at the current exchange rates is about USD1400.

Special Issue Abstract:
Methods traditionally used for biodiversity assessments are increasingly
being supplemented by DNA-based approaches. Sequencing of environmental DNA
(eDNA) or of DNA from mixed bulk samples such as plankton tows, benthic
communities, and gut contents is rapidly growing in popularity as a tool
for ecological studies and community assessments. Using these tools, it is
increasingly possible to assess and track community-level biodiversity
patterns from a single sample, enabling rapid, cost-effective comparisons
of biodiversity across trophic levels, in contrasting habitats, and over
time. While metabarcoding has predominantly been used to track species
occurrences, a number of recent studies have demonstrated a correlation
between species biomass (or density) and DNA concentration, suggesting that
these approaches may, in the future, be developed to reliably quantify
species abundance. The purpose of this Special Issue is to explore the uses
of eDNA and metabarcoding in marine systems. We welcome articles that both
demonstrate, as well as challenge, the utility of this emerging tool. We
strongly encourage methodological papers that empirically test protocols
and provide new resources for the larger community. We also look forward to
receiving articles that use metabarcoding to address questions in ecology,
biogeography and conservation in novel ways.

Dr. Michelle R. Gaither
Dr. Joseph DiBattista
Dr. Matthieu Leray
Dr. Sophie von der Heyden


Postdoctoral researcher
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Panama
google scholar
<https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=DfhawycAAAAJ&hl=en>
https://www.matthieuleray.website <https://leraymatthieu.wixsite.com/mysite>