In October 2024, project partner APS Dolphin Biology and Conservation (DBC) completed its part of the sampling of environmental DNA within the SeaInsights project. In total, they obtained 144 filters, totaling over 4000 liters of filtered seawater. Project partners at Morigenos and Shoreline are collecting more samples in the north-eastern section of the Adriatic, and project partner DivjaLabs will later analyze all these samples to study marine biodiversity in this part of the basin.
Starting in April 2024, DBC has been actively contributing to the project, developing a database and survey design for at-sea sampling. Initially, they carried out sea trials that contributed to the design and improvement of the equipment used for filtering. Subsequently, they started the field work in their sampling area, i.e. in the waters off the Veneto region, up to 22 km off the coast.
Now all the DNA samples have been catalogued and handed over to project partner DivjaLabs, that will carry out the laboratory analysis. DBC documented the above activities with photos and videos, which served to share the experiences at sea with project partners (reporting any problems and difficulties), and to communicate and disseminate some aspects of the SeaInsights project.
