Ecogenomic assessment of dilbit on boreal aquatic ecosystems: a mesocosm study

GeoNetwork record: www.gwfnet.net/geonetwork/srv/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/3014eb07-f908-42c5-8018-4db29fbb6570 Tracking ID under eDNA project: UofS-eDNA-dataset-metadata-6

Data for environmental DNA collection will include water chemistry measurements, water collection, filtration and extraction of DNA/RNA from filters. Metabarcoding data of zooplankton DNA and sedimentary DNA is generated via next-generation sequencing. Bioinformatic pipeline is applied to processing sequence data and convert it to human-readable data.

This project aims to study the effects of diluted bitumen on the aquatic ecosystem by use of environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding. Zooplankton and benthos were characterized by amplicon next-generation sequencing. eDNA metabarcoding is being compared with morphology-based species identification for both zooplankton and macroinvertebrate. The data set also serves for the development of tools for risk assessment of eDNA. This data set is collected for the project titled Next Generation Solutions to Ensure Healthy Water Resources for Future Generations. This sub-project of eDNA project is collaborated with BOREAL project conducted at IISD-ELA. This is a Pillar 3 project under the Global Water Futures Program funded by Canada First Research Excellence Fund.

Freshwater ecosystems are under threat from and being accidental imperiled by increased development, transport and release of dilbit. The ecosystem responses of freshwater ecosystems to dilbit are also largely unknown due to the extremely high biodiversity. eDNA metabarcoding can be used to monitoring multiple communities in aquatic ecosystems. Controlled mesocosm experiments were conducted at ELA. Collection of eDNA from the water allows for identification of all organisms within a community and is a very useful tool to measure biodiversity. This will allow for predictive measurements of ecosystem health, ensuring that we can maintain healthy water resources for future generations.

IISD-ELA, Lake 260

data is under embargo.