Strategy for Successful Integration of eDNA-based Methods in Aquatic Monitoring

Recent developments in the use of environmental DNA are opening up new horizons for the assessment of the quality of aquatic environments. These rapid and cost-effective methods, in very swift progress, will potentially offer the opportunity to identify all the taxa present in an environmental sample (water or biota) by the use of complementary markers. The produced inventories can then be used for the assessment of biodiversity and ecological quality. However, the inclusion of these new DNA-based methods in monitoring practices is not straightforward and requires harmonised actions in the coming years at national and international levels. In order to foresee and stimulate such a harmonised implementation, the European network DNAqua-Net (COST Action CA15219) brought together some of its members, experts of ECOSTAT and other environmental biomonitoring stakeholders from different European countries. Through workshops, bringing together 51 participants in 7 sub-groups in April 2020, an implementation roadmap was designed. The coordinated actions to be taken in the different countries, and the possible collaborations and steps to be taken at the EU level were identified. This presentation will give an overview of all discussions (Lefrançois et al. 2020) reflecting the diversity of situations in Europe, as well as common views. We will highlight important actions required for a successful implementation of DNA-based biomonitoring of aquatic ecosystems to the horizon of 2030.