Ocean Biomolecular Observing Network (OBON)

Funding Call Text: - Scaling Autonomous Integrated Global eDNA Observations (SAIGe) - Microgrants to accelerate #eDNA monitoring through 1-year projects on topics such as autonomous sampling, standardising protocols, building data infrastructure, expanding reference libraries, and citizen science initiatives using eDNA kits. - Expressions of Intent (EoI) by 10 December. - Full proposal by 14 Jan 2026. To maximise impact and advance OBON’s objectives, this call will prioritise: 1. Projects based in the West Pacific region. 2. UN Ocean Decade endorsed projects associated with OBON 3. Members of OBON Working Groups.

Call for EoIs to apply for the OBON-SAIGe Microgrants, supported by @minderoo.bsky.social

- aim to accelerate #eDNA monitoring
- 1-year projects
- Priority for (i) West Pacific region, (ii) @unoceandecade.bsky.social OBON projects, (iii) OBON WG members

Full details at: mailchi.mp/e6c4f46926c9...

The latest POGO newsletter includes a report from the LACOBON (Latin American and Caribbean Ocean Biomolecular Observation Network) #eDNA Capacity building workshop, which took place in Colombia last month, hosted by INVEMAR 🧬 ⤵️

Funding Call Text: - Scaling Autonomous Integrated Global eDNA Observations (SAIGe) - Microgrants to accelerate #eDNA monitoring through 1-year projects on topics such as autonomous sampling, standardising protocols, building data infrastructure, expanding reference libraries, and citizen science initiatives using eDNA kits. - Expressions of Intent (EoI) by 10 December. - Full proposal by 14 Jan 2026. To maximise impact and advance OBON’s objectives, this call will prioritise: 1. Projects based in the West Pacific region. 2. UN Ocean Decade endorsed projects associated with OBON 3. Members of OBON Working Groups.

Call for EoIs to apply for the OBON-SAIGe Microgrants, supported by @minderoo.bsky.social

- aim to accelerate #eDNA monitoring
- 1-year projects
- Priority for (i) West Pacific region, (ii) @unoceandecade.bsky.social OBON projects, (iii) OBON WG members

Full details at: mailchi.mp/e6c4f46926c9...

OBON Newsletter Issue 11 - November 2025 The latest news and updates from the OBON community

*New* OBON Nov 2025 Newsletter now online:
Meeting reports, new project intros, news from the community, and more. Read it here ⤵️

mailchi.mp/1e2b9ce5ff90...

If you missed our recent webinars with introductions and updates from OBON projects - they are all available on our youtube channel at www.youtube.com/@OBONOcean

⤵️Enjoy!
#eDNA #oceanobserving

Join us for the next OBON webinar series featuring projects endorsed as @unoceandecade.bsky.social #biomolecular observing initiatives:

📆14 Oct: 13:00 – 14:30
📆15 Oct: 21:00 – 22:30
📆23 Oct: 06:00 – 07:30

[All times in BST (UTC + 1)]

⏩Full details & sign-up links at obon-ocean.org/2025/10/07/o...

Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: OBON Projects Wave: Session 1 (European Time). After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting. The "OBON Network Spotlight: Projects Wave 2025" webinar series, hosted by the Ocean Biomolecular Observing Network (OBON), features presentations from projects endorsed as Ocean Decade initiatives un...

Join the first session today at 1pm UK time (UTC +1): us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

Join us for the next OBON webinar series featuring projects endorsed as @unoceandecade.bsky.social #biomolecular observing initiatives:

📆14 Oct: 13:00 – 14:30
📆15 Oct: 21:00 – 22:30
📆23 Oct: 06:00 – 07:30

[All times in BST (UTC + 1)]

⏩Full details & sign-up links at obon-ocean.org/2025/10/07/o...

Join us at the @imarest.bsky.social webinar on:
"Unlocking Ocean Secrets: Marine Mammal Monitoring Through eDNA"

22 Sept 2025 - 4pm UK time

Matt Lemay, from the OBON project "HI-BON" (led by @hakai.org) will be one of the speakers.

More info and sign up at: www.imarest.org/events/event...

New Paper:

We linked DNA in sediment cores with historical accounts from Indigenous community members to reconstruct ecosystem changes that occurred following a landslide event in the 1940s.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

🧬 The data #EMOBON collects now will power future insights into ocean health 🌊

At #UNOC25, EMBRC unveiled 1st results from its long-term genomic observatory 🇪🇺, showing:
🔹 How marine communities differ across seas
🔹 Whether sediment communities follow the same pattern

🔗 Poster: tinyurl.com/mrxnner2

Just a reminder to get your abstracts in for #OSM26 and join our sessions on #biomolecular #observing in Glasgow.
Submission deadline is tomorrow - 20 Aug ⤵️
#eDNA #oceanobs

Another quarter - and another jam-packed OBON newsletter!!

The August 2025 issue is now online - with updates on programme activities, OBON projects, relevant upcoming events, and more.

Read it here: mailchi.mp/6eca6e8f6ca4...

🌊 #EMBRCAnnualReport | 👉 2024 highlights include:

➡️ #EMOBON’s first data release

🔗 More in our 2024 annual report: www.embrc.eu/documents-an...

@obon-ocean.bsky.social @cpavloud.bsky.social @iouliasanti.bsky.social @tvarminne.bsky.social @vliz.be @obs-banyuls.fr @imev-mer.fr @szndohrn.bsky.social

OBON will host two sessions at the 2026 Ocean Sciences Meeting, which will be held in Glasgow, UK, from 22-27 February 2026. Both sessions are part of the Ocean Technology and Observatories topic, and are accepting abstract submissions: APPLY BY: 20 August 2025 | 20:59 EDT (03:59 UTC)

📢Call for abstracts - #OSM26

Join us in Glasgow, 22-27 Feb 2026, to discuss advances in ocean biomolecular observing.🧬🌊
Find out more at obon-ocean.org/2025/07/16/o...

Submission deadline: 20 Aug 2025
#eDNA #oceanobs
@pogo-ocean.bsky.social
@aslo.org
@agu.org
@tosoceanography.bsky.social

If you missed the latest OBON Network Spotlight webinar - introducing our new projects ANEMONE and PASTIME - it is now available on our YouTube Channel at youtu.be/AEeJFXHtghw (see link in bio for full list).

More on OBON projects here: obon-ocean.org/endorsed-pro...

Join our special webinar on Monday 16 June at 11:30 AM (UK time), where we will officially launch three exciting new OBON projects under the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development: ANEMONE, BLOW, and PASTIME.
📅 Register here to join:
🔗 mailchi.mp/939690b90cb8...

#eDNA can revolutionize biodiversity science by enabling global species census in near real time. Yet, technical challenges & data interpretation issues must be resolved for its broad adoption in conservation.

Read more: bit.ly/3WeM5ts

#Biodiversity #Conservation #Science

Robotic environmental DNA bio-surveillance of freshwater health - Scientific Reports Scientific Reports - Robotic environmental DNA bio-surveillance of freshwater health

Autonomous water sampling tech like MBARI's ESP can revolutionize long-term river monitoring by automating #eDNA collection offering cost-effective, high-frequency detection of pathogens & invasive species.

Read more: bit.ly/45YBE0o

#Innovation #Tech #Monitoring #Science

#newepisode just dropped!
Environmental #DNA or #eDNA is the study of genetic material in the #environment.
How can we apply it to the #deepsea? Revealing the hidden majority, changes through time and community structure, the possibilities seem endless.

open.spotify.com/episode/2XQv...

What is eDNA and why is it a game changer for ocean observation and conservation? | Marine Biological Association If you’ve just watched Ocean with David Attenborough and found yourself awed by the beauty and fragility of marine life, you’re not alone. Along with the

Every marine organism leaves traces of itself in the water; tiny fragments of skin, mucus, or waste that contain its DNA. But how can we harness these invisible clues to better understand & protect #ocean life? 🌊

🔗 www.mba.ac.uk/what-is-edna...

#eDNA #WorldOceanDay #Conservation

🌊 It’s #WorldOceanDay! 🌊 As part of the European #ANERIS project, citizens in 8 countries – including Belgium – are testing how #eDNA can trace marine life in water and sand. 🧬Training sessions for citizens are held in the context of World Ocean Day. 💧

Meet OBON's new projects - ANEMONE, BLOW and PASTIME - in this upcoming webinar.

📅 16 June | 🕦 11:30–13:00 (UK Time)
📍 Read more and register: obon-ocean.org/2025/06/03/o...

The May 2025 OBON newsletter is now available to read - with updates on programme activities, OBON projects, relevant upcoming events, and more. We also introduce three new members of the OBON community.

Why not grab a drink or snack and have a read?! ⤵️

mailchi.mp/9011b123227b...

eDNA is the genetic material of animals, bacteria, or plants found in air, soil, or water samples. A key challenge interpreting eDNA is understanding its shedding, dispersion & degradation rates. Brasseale et al., attempt to model 🐬 eDNA dynamics 🌊

agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

#OceanObservation I 👉 EMO BON’s latest #SamplingCampaign is now live
Scientists from EMBRC sites across Europe will sample

➡️ Water column
➡️ Soft sediment (microorganisms, meiobenthos, macrobenthos)
➡️ Hard Substrate

🔗 More info: www.embrc.eu/services/emo...

Awesome to see our colleagues’ work rearing at the Sunflower lab highlighted!

We’re working with them and others echinodermologists across the West Coast to design an #eDNA assay to help find the last CA sunflower stars and enhance future monitoring efforts!

New Guide Seeks to Advance DNA Library of Marine Species A team of scientists has created a new guide to advance standards for collecting and cataloging DNA from marine species, enhancing a revolutionary method for monitoring ocean biodiversity.

Nice write up of our latest DNA Barcoding Guide from West Coast OBON

The guide is being used by CA Ocean Protection Council to inform their California Intertidal Biodiversity DNA Barcode Library project (more to come on this project!) opc.ca.gov/wp-content/u...

scripps.ucsd.edu/news/new-gui...

New Guide Seeks to Advance DNA Library of Marine Species A team of scientists has created a new guide to advance standards for collecting and cataloging DNA from marine species, enhancing a revolutionary method for monitoring ocean biodiversity.

Thanks @scrippsocean.bsky.social Comms Team for their nice writeup of our reference barcoding how-to guide! Very proud of our West Coast @obon-ocean.bsky.social team (+ a few friends). We hope this work will help others interested in improving our #eDNA databases.
scripps.ucsd.edu/news/new-gui...

Photo of Dr. Kelly Goodwin and myself in front of Lake Washington

My mentor, Dr. Kelly Goodwin, just retired today. Over her years 25 years at NOAA she helped pioneer biotechnology into our agency’s scientific missions. Now we use it routinely because of her science and incredible leadership for the NOAA ‘Omics program. Honored to be a part of her legacy 🧬🌊🐟🧪🧫⚗️🔬👩‍🔬