IMIS

Traditional monitoring techniques for ecosystem monitoring identifying are currently time consuming and expensive. By applying DNA-based techniques, GEANS aims to reduce time and costs, and make species identification more accurate. Pilot studies take a central role in proving these advantages. Among the pilot studies, one focuses on soft-bottom monitoring of macrobenthos. Samples were taken at the Northern part of the Belgian North Sea, analysed through metabarcoding and results were compared with traditional monitoring techniques in order to demonstrate the improvement of applying novel techniques. This data is the result of DNA based soft bottom monitoring of sediment samples in the framework of the robustness of the ring test at the northern part of the Belgian North Sea by Wageningen University in 2020.