eDNA: A 21st Century tool to link people and ecosystem health in Sub-Saharan Africa?

Freshwater ecosystems are biodiversity hotspots and crucial to the survival of people and wildlife. However, population growth, over exploitation and changing climate are a real threat to these key ecosystems, particularly in arid environments. Effective management, monitoring and protection are crucial, but traditional methods are onerous, expensive and barely developed in less developed regions. New cost-effective methods are required urgently to support these fragile ecosystems and the services (e.g.fish) on which the wellbeing of local populations depend. Recent reductions in the cost and capacity of DNA sequencing technologies, together with more effective methods of extracting DNA from environmental samples, offer an unprecedented opportunity to develop affordable biological monitoring. In freshwaters, environmental DNA (eDNA) approaches provide a unique opportunity of simultaneously capture risks to ecosystems and human health respectively from biodiversity loss and waterborne pathogens. In the PhD we build on a NERC funded project that has develop freshwater eDNA to assess water quality in the UK (LOFRESH) together with Pilot project data funded by the Welsh Governement under a GCRF scheme which has established sampling collection and processing approaches for Namibian samples. The PhD will exploit these emthodologies to assess the applicability and potential value of these eDNA approaches for freshwater monitoring of both biodiversity and pathogens in Namibia, where Cardiff University has long standing relationships and a 5 year Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Namibia. As one of the most arid nations on Earth, Namibia’s network of ephemeral freshwaters support distinctive species and ecosystems that are critical to wildlife, while also supporting water resource needs, yet there is no substantive monitoring or assessment. Ecosystem scientists, molecular ecologists and eco-hydrologists from the Universities of Cardiff and Namibia will pool knowledge, and work together on a proof-of-concept for eDNA approaches in these ephemeral freshwaters. The work will contribute to a long term environmental research platform on water for people and ecosystems.
This work provides added value by building on significant NERC investments on the development of molecular tools for environmental sciences, both through funded research such as the DURESS and LOFRESH grants that were part of NERC’s strategic programmes, and also through infrastructure funding such as the Environmental ’Omics Synthesis Centre. The project will explicitly aim to:
1. Validate an eDNA methodology that can be deployed in the field to monitor fresh water ecosystems in Namibia.
2. Exploit eDNA approaches to characterize the unique ecology of the ephemeral rivers of Namibia.
3. Deploy eDNA approaches to monitor water quality.
4. Explore the utility of eDNA for the surveillance of potential pathogens present within water bodies.
The project provides an ideal vehicle for a student to develop the technical skill base associated with the eDNA sampling processing and informatics analysis together with working in a highly multidisciplinary environment. Furthermore, the student will gain experience of performing research overseas addressing an issue with global reach. Integration of the project within an established international partnership provides an ideal opportunity to develop networking and communication skills.

Real Life challenges this project will address
Climatic changes and population increases are pressuring the Namibian water resources vital for both people and ecosystems. Harnessing (meta)barcoding approaches with environmental DNA (eDNA) potentially offers an effective, low cost means for biomonitoring water ecosystem health and waterborne pathogens, providing data for decision making.

What expertise you will develop
You will develop skills in Environmental and Ecological Genomics including the use and exploitation of eDNA. You will develop a grounding in ecosystem and molecular ecological approach to river biodiversity. You will also gain an understanding of the ecological challenges, social issues, water management techniques and demands placed on water within a sub-Saharan context represented by Namibia.

Why this project is novel
The project will exploit the Environmental DNA (eDNA) approaches for freshwater monitoring of biodiversity and pathogens in an arid country, Namibia, where Cardiff University (CU) has just signed a 5 year Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Namibia (UNAM)