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<p>Environmental DNA (eDNA)—genetic material left behind by organisms in their ecosystems—has been increasingly positioned as an important tool for studying biodiversity, especially in marine environments. Advances in genetic methods now allow scientists to filter eDNA from seawater and use molecular tools to sequence it, generating a catalog of organisms likely present in the ecosystem without ever seeing them. Thus, eDNA sampling differs substantially from conventional biodiversity monitoring approaches that rely on visual observation—both opening new realms of monitoring while also coming into conflict with different ways of knowing and sensing marine ecosystems. How do researchers navigate the promises and pitfalls of an emerging technology such as eDNA? In this paper, I conduct a case study of an oceanographic expedition incorporating eDNA sampling for the first time to understand how researchers negotiate the perceived benefits and challenges of adopting this emergent research repertoire. Through semi-structured interviews with 30 participants, I use a valuographic approach to characterize how researchers describe the desirable outcomes they hope to achieve via eDNA monitoring. Overall, I find that researchers articulated several broad outcomes they were hoping to achieve using eDNA approaches: ocean discovery and exploration, organism measurement and identification, comparisons across time and space, and policy and management applications. However, these outcomes and their interconnections were also disputed. Researchers surfaced practical challenges such as methodological constraints and cost, epistemic tensions surrounding the shift away from visual identification, and skepticism about the validity of eDNA-based comparisons. Moreover, researchers rarely discussed broader societal or ethical implications of eDNA approaches, underscoring a gap in consideration of its role beyond scientific inquiry. By characterizing these value-driven dissonances, this study illuminates potential barriers to eDNA’s widespread adoption and reveals how methodological and epistemic tensions can shape the proliferation of new scientific approaches more broadly.</p>

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Embracing environmental DNA? How values influence the integration of a new technology into an oceanographic expedition

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年12月24日

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  • Meghan Marjorie Shea

摘要

Environmental DNA (eDNA)—genetic material left behind by organisms in their ecosystems—has been increasingly positioned as an important tool for studying biodiversity, especially in marine environments. Advances in genetic methods now allow scientists to filter eDNA from seawater and use molecular tools to sequence it, generating a catalog of organisms likely present in the ecosystem without ever seeing them. Thus, eDNA sampling differs substantially from conventional biodiversity monitoring approaches that rely on visual observation—both opening new realms of monitoring while also coming into conflict with different ways of knowing and sensing marine ecosystems. How do researchers navigate the promises and pitfalls of an emerging technology such as eDNA? In this paper, I conduct a case study of an oceanographic expedition incorporating eDNA sampling for the first time to understand how researchers negotiate the perceived benefits and challenges of adopting this emergent research repertoire. Through semi-structured interviews with 30 participants, I use a valuographic approach to characterize how researchers describe the desirable outcomes they hope to achieve via eDNA monitoring. Overall, I find that researchers articulated several broad outcomes they were hoping to achieve using eDNA approaches: ocean discovery and exploration, organism measurement and identification, comparisons across time and space, and policy and management applications. However, these outcomes and their interconnections were also disputed. Researchers surfaced practical challenges such as methodological constraints and cost, epistemic tensions surrounding the shift away from visual identification, and skepticism about the validity of eDNA-based comparisons. Moreover, researchers rarely discussed broader societal or ethical implications of eDNA approaches, underscoring a gap in consideration of its role beyond scientific inquiry. By characterizing these value-driven dissonances, this study illuminates potential barriers to eDNA’s widespread adoption and reveals how methodological and epistemic tensions can shape the proliferation of new scientific approaches more broadly.