Phylogenetic microarrays and high-throughput sequencing: A new tool for biodiversity assessment in Northern Norway

Anthropogenic stressors are causing changes in many ecosystems. Discovery of these changes however are often made long after extensive loss of biodiversity, and remediation therefore becomes a tremendous undertaking, if even possible. Nevertheless, as the global exploitation pressure on available resources is increasing, we extend our operations towards sensitive ecosystems that have previously been protected from resource extraction. It is therefore particularly important to monitor these new areas to detect, understand and remediate environmental responses to particular stressors. Ecosystem change caused by anthropogenic stressors is difficult to establish because of short and long term natural variation as well as long term climatic change. Accurate monitoring of ecosystems therefore requires high resolution, both temporally and spatially. Current sampling programs are not well adapted to this. Here we conducted metabarcoding approach and applied a developed phylogenetic microarray on current monitoring stations using site specific tagged universal primers targeting the eukaryotic fraction. Our data indicate that we detect effects on the biodiversity of sediments surrounding oil platforms at a similar resolution to classical monitoring. In addition, since the approach target universal eukaryotic phylogenetic genes, we were able to characterize the effect on a more complete ecosystem (microorganisms to macrofauna). Once this technology is fully developed and optimized it will generate a high throughput method of detecting human impacts on marine ecosystems, particularly the short and long-term effects that exploiting petroleum resources have on benthic marine ecosystems.

Anthropogenic stressors are causing changes in many ecosystems. Discovery of these changes however, are often made long after extensive loss of biodiversity and remediation becomes a tremendous undertaking, if even possible. Nevertheless, as the global ex ploitation pressure on available resourses is increasing, we extend our operations towards sensitive ecosystems that have previously been protected from resource extraction. It is therefore particularly important to monitor these new areas to detect, unde rstand and remediate environmental responses to a particular environmental stressor. Ecosystem change caused by anthropogenic stressors is difficult to establish because of short and long term natural variation as well as long term climatic change. Accura te monitoring of ecosystems therefore requires high resolution, both temporally and spatially. Current sampling programs are not well adapted to this. We propose to initiate the development of the worlds most advanced marine environmental monitoring syste m through environomics. We aim to conduct a metagenome sequencing (454 GS FLX sequencing) on current EMP stations using site specific tagged universal primers targeting several phylogenetic genes. With the same technology we will monitor biodiversity of s everal sensitive marine areas in Northern Norway which will provide a baseline reference prior to any anthropogenic impact. For future routine high frequency and spatial resolution biodiversity monitoring we will further develop and evaluate microarray te chnology, using 30 indicator species with several phylogenetic markers for each species. As this technology becomes available it will generate new knowledge of human impacts on marine ecosystems particularly the short and long-term effects that exploiting petroleum resources have on oceanic ecosystems.