Incubation of marine sediment samples to inform bacteria-based monitoring
Bacterial eDNA is useful for environmental monitoring purposes, but eDNA studies still suffer from inconsistent protocols and unknown areas of variability. This study took sediment samples from a marine fin-fish farm and incubated them at three temperatures prior to preservation (freezing) in order to see if it had an impact on ecological interpretation. It is therefore able to provide guidance regarding SOPs and the practicalities of field sample collection.