PRESSURISED: 059 - eDNA with Georgia Nester

eDNA with Georgia Nester | The Deep Sea Podcast | Episode 59 Welcome to the PRESSURISED version of episode 59, just the science, none of the waffle For this month’s interview, we speak with Dr. Georgia Nester, a colleague of Alan’s from the University of Western Australia, about eDNA (Environmental DNA is any genetic material left behind by organisms in an environment). She talks about how several collection methods, eg.: Niskin bottles, sponges and paper filters, located on the deep-sea lander system, can retrieve different types of eDNA from the deep. Georgia also touches on how diel migrators can really mess with eDNA data, and larvae gave her a surprise when she kept getting hits from very deep-living fish in her surface samples. Georgia even used a water sample to locate surprise eDNA evidence of the Giant Squid in Australian waters, which Al takes as a chance to remind Thom of his Antarctic colossal squid failure. Alan talks about how valuable he thinks eDNA is, how it can give a great snapshot of what can’t be seen on the footage or in the submersible, and how it might be able to narrow down species that are difficult to catch, like Bassozetus cusk eels. Support the show The show is self-sustaining, but we couldn’t do it without you. Here’s a link to our page on how to support us, from the free options to becoming a patron of the show. We want to say a huge thank you to those patrons who have already pledged to support us: Rainstorm Wolfe Shea Racist Teacup Don’t forget that becoming a patron also gives you access to the Discord and a like-minded community of deep-sea folks, including scientists, artists, students, and previous guests! Deep-sea news often breaks there first. Check out our podcast merch here! Feel free to get in touch with us with questions or your own tales from the high seas at: [email protected] We’d love to actually play your voice, so feel free to record a short audio note! Thanks again for tuning in; we’ll deep-see you next time! Find out more Social media BlueSky: @deepseapod.com Twitter: @DeepSeaPod Instagram: @deepsea_podcast Keep up with the team on social media Twitter: Alan - @Hadalbloke Thom - @ThomLinley Instagram: Thom - @thom.linley Inkfish - @inkfishexpeditions BlueSky: Thom @thomaslinley.com Reference list Nester, G. M., Suter, L., Kitchener, J. A., Bunce, M., Polanowski, A. M., Wasserman, J., & Deagle, B. (2024). Long-distance Southern Ocean environmental DNA (eDNA) transect provides insights into spatial marine biota and invasion pathways for non-native species. Science of the Total Environment, 951, 175657. Takahashi, M., Saccò, M., Kestel, J. H., Nester, G., Campbell, M. A., Van Der Heyde, M., ... & Allentoft, M. E. (2023). Aquatic environmental DNA: A review of the macro-organismal biomonitoring revolution. Science of the Total Environment, 873, 162322. Credits Theme: Hadal Zone Express by Märvel Logo image: Microsoft CoPilot