MARine COastal BiOdiversity Long-term Observations (MARCO-BOLO). The MARCO- BOLO project aims to structure and strengthen European coastal and marine biodiversity observation capabilities, linking them to global efforts (e.g. MBON, GOOS, OBIS and UN Ocean Decade Programmes such as Marine Life 2030, OBON, ODIS, Ocean Practices for the Decade), to understand and restore ocean health, and ensure outputs respond to explicit stakeholder needs from policy, spatial planning, and industry. MARCO-BOLO is a four-year project that started in December 2022.
The second work package of MARCO-BOLO is dedicated to improving eDNA-based monitoring and aims to evaluate, tune and integrate eDNA-based approaches (i.e. single species detection, DNA metabarcoding and metagenomics) for biodiversity monitoring across trophic and functional groups.
A Plan towards an eDNA reference library and data repository for Aquatic Organisms, navigating Europe towards the next generation biodiversity monitoring (eDNAqua- plan). The eDNAqua-Plan project will develop a plan for establishing a digital ecosystem of eDNA repositories and an integrated reference library for marine and freshwater species that is open-access and based on the FAIR data principles to support future aquatic biodiversity monitoring programs and mapping initiatives. eDNAqua-Plan is a three-year project that started in September 2023 and is built around a comprehensive landscape analysis (WP2), the development of recommendations and standards mapping (WP3), on-the-ground feedback from use cases (WP4) and finally the proposal of a strategic blueprint and roadmap of a future aquatic eDNA digital ecosystem for Europe (WP5).
More precisely, work package 4 of eDNAqua-Plan connects eDNAqua-Plan with multiple on-the-ground monitoring programs (use cases) to provide existing (e)DNA datasets from marine and freshwater environments to test and demonstrate the applicability of the proposed integrated digital ecosystem for European biodiversity strategies and to highlight any issues and requirements that need to be considered when building such integrated systems.
Work package 5 of eDNAqua-Plan will then deliver the operational blueprint, the strategic vision and Roadmap, and viable options towards the sustainability of a future aquatic eDNA digital ecosystem for Europe. These key project outputs will build upon the project’s landscape analyses, recommendations, use case feedback and wider stakeholder consultation.
Scope of work, purpose & responsibilities of the proposed work
UNESCO/OBIS is seeking an individual consultant to support the implementation of the two projects related to the development of eDNA data workflows and their integration in the European management context.
eDNA analyses are gaining popularity and increasingly being used for management purposes and to provide monitoring data for decision making. However, the infrastructure and capacity for standardized data management and comparable data generation across the European landscape is still lacking. By contributing to these projects, the task of the consultant will be to review existing workflows, report on best practices and plan for a system that can be adopted across different monitoring structures, and that benefits from available existing resources.
Requirements for experience and qualifications
Academic Qualifications:
- Ph.D. or equivalent by experience in (marine) biology with experience in molecular ecology.
Years of experience:
- 4 years of relevant work experience in eDNA metabarcoding workflows.
Technical experience:
- Experience in bioinformatics
- Knowledge of R or Python
- Knowledge of GitHub
- Good knowledge on global biodiversity databases and data standards (DwC, EML)
Competencies:
- Experience with working in an international context
- Fluent in spoken and written English
- Any other international language would be desirable
- Ability to work individually and as part of a team
Application deadline: May 23, 2025
