Course overview
This online, theory-based course will introduce policy makers, regulators and industry professionals to environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding applications for biodiversity monitoring and environmental assessment. The course will focus on what eDNA is and how sampling and laboratory strategies determine the questions that eDNA metabarcoding applications can answer reliably. The course is module-based, where the introductory modules can be selected to suit the audience, with a starting foundational module suitable for participants with a limited background in biology. It then covers how eDNA is collected, processed and analysed including relevant international (International Organisation for Standardization: ISO) and European (European Committee for Standardization: CEN) standards. The state of the art of current applications will be presented including invasive species surveillance, biodiversity assessment and environmental impact monitoring. These will be considered in different biomes (terrestrial, freshwater and marine) as each has specific considerations. The first four course modules focus on the essential background knowledge for understanding what eDNA is, practical workflows and potential applications. The final two modules of the course focus on the practical and interpretive skills the end-users from policy and industry backgrounds require: considerations for commissioning and evaluating work from service providers, understanding quality assurance and quality control principles and procedures, and interpreting results. Throughout the course, end-use of data in policy and management settings will be emphasized. Course participants will become familiar with the difference between detecting DNA and inferring organism presence, absence or abundance, so that they can match study design to management objectives and understand what eDNA metabarcoding results can and cannot support. Aside from a basic understanding of motivations and frameworks for biological surveys, no particular background knowledge is required.
Learning outcomes
By the course end, participants will be able to:
1) Explain what eDNA is under current conceptual frameworks
2) Understand how DNA enters, moves through and degrades and environment mediums such as water, soil, sediment and air;
3) Understand eDNA metabarcoding and its workflows, including relevant standards and standards frameworks (e.g. TRLs) and eDNA metabarcoding applications, and;
4) Understand why these processes shape what eDNA metabarcoding data represents in space and time. This includes understanding the difference between metabarcoding and other analyses of eDNA so participants can pick the right approach for specific applications.
Participants will be able to judge whether eDNA metabarcoding fits with a specific policy, regulatory or commercial need. They will have the necessary background to appraise sampling design choices, including the types of sampling, and how the replication, timing and spatial distribution of sampling and the type of laboratory and bioinformatic workflows will influence how data can be interpreted. With this knowledge, participants will be able to write informed specifications for service providers, ask focused questions about methods and laboratory processes, and QA/QC evaluate services and the data they produce. Participants will have the ability to recognise the promises and pitfalls of eDNA metabarcoding applications, including considerations of whether it is necessary to identify organisms at all, and if so, considerations of sensitivity (i.e. true positives rate) and specificity (i.e. true negative rate) and how these relate to inferring organism presence, absence and abundance from metabarcoding datasets. This will provide participants with a firm basis for understanding and communicating these data when eDNA metabarcoding evidence feeds into decision making.
Programme
Note that there is a time for questions / discussions after each module, short breaks between sessions and a 30 minute lunch break each day.
Day 1, December 8, 09:00 – 13:45 (CET):
- Module 1 (Optional for participants with limited background knowledge in biology) – Life, cells, DNA in organisms and in the environment. 40 minutes (09:00 – 09:50)
- Module 2 – What is eDNA, bulk samples vs environmental mediums and what do we know about its lifecycle in freshwater, marine and terrestrial environmental mediums. 1.5 hours (10:00 – 11:45)
- Module 3 – How is eDNA collected and analysed: Standards, principles and practises. 1 hour (12:30 – 13:45)
Day 2, December 9, 09:00 – 14:00 (CET):
- Module 4 – State of the art for selected eDNA metabarcoding applications: freshwater, marine and terrestrial ecosystems. 1.5 hours (09:00 – 10:45)
- Module 5 – Engagement of service providers, workflows, what to ask and quality assurance/ quality control. 40 minutes (11:00 – 11:50)
- Module 6 – Interpreting eDNA metabarcoding data. 1.5 hours (12:15 – 14:00)
Target group / Audience
Policy & Industry practitioners
About the instructors
Glenn Dunshea, Researcher, NTNU University Museum, Trondheim, Norway
Stefaniya Kamenova, Researcher, National Museum of Natural History, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
Torbjørn Ekrem, Professor, NTNU University Museum, Trondheim, Norway
Admission and applications
Number of participants, eligibility and prerequisites
To ensure sufficient ability for engagement with participants, the course will be limited to 20 participants. Preference will be given to applicants with affiliation to policy and industry.
Application deadline
20 November 2026
How to apply
You can apply for the course here.
Contact
Glenn Dunshea – glenn.dunshea@ntnu.no
NTNU University Museum, Department of Natural History
Other practical information
- Language: English
- Credits: No
- Assessment: None
Responsible Institution
Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)
