Tag Archives: metabarcoding

Strengthening Zooplankton Monitoring: Akvaplan NIVA and the University of Bergen join forces!

Last month, the Manet team at the Department of Natural History welcomed colleagues from Akvaplan NIVA Bergen and the Institute of Biology (BIO-UiB) for a four-day workshop, an event that was part of UiB’s strategic funding for marine cooperation in 2026.

Our goal was simple yet ambitious: to bring together key actors in Bergen, combining knowledge of marine species with modern computing tools to improve how we monitor zooplankton (i.e. the tiny drifting animals that live in our waters and play a crucial role in marine food webs, supporting larger species such as fish and whales).

Zooplankton samples may look messy (left), but a closer look (right) shows they are full of life! Image credit: Lea Dober

The workshop was called “Strengthening regional capacity in monitoring of polar zooplankton through metabarcoding and DNA reference libraries”. Metabarcoding is a method that uses DNA to identify species from samples without the need to examine each organism under a microscope.

These are some of the ways we can collect and/or detect zooplankton. Metabarcoding is unique because it does not require catching or observing the animals, and instead it identifies them by analyzing their DNA. Image credit: Aino Hosia.

The advantage of metabarcoding over traditional zooplankton analysis is that it is much faster and can detect species that are too small, fragile or damaged to be recognized otherwise. However, to be successful, metabarcoding depends on having a complete and reliable DNA reference library to compare results with and usually requires considerable computing power.

We at the University Museum of Bergen host one of the most complete DNA-barcoded collections of gelatinous zooplankton in the world. Image credit: Joan J. Soto-Angel

Over the four days of the workshop, we learned how to carry out metabarcoding analyses using a ‘supercomputer’ called SAGA. We worked carefully on keeping research workflows consistent and well documented and transforming raw DNA sequences into species lists that can be interpreted and checked, and we also explored ways to verify and refine the results to make sure the identifications were as accurate as possible.

We spent most of the workshop working in front of our computers, with tea, fruit and snacks each day to keep energy levels up. Image credit: Joan J. Soto-Angel

One good thing with plankton research is that it does not happen only in front of a monitor, so in parallel to our final session, students from our team joined a plankton sampling trip to nearby Korsfjorden. The organisms they collected were added to our growing DNA reference databases and will help improve the precision of zooplankton metabarcoding in the years to come.

Plankton sampling with nets involves deploying and retrieving the net (left), as well as a little waiting when the net is in the water (right). Image credits: Lea Dober

By combining species identification and advanced computing in a single collaborative effort, the workshop demonstrated how Bergen’s marine science community can achieve more when working together. It was a week of learning, exchanging knowledge and building stronger connections that will help us better understand and protect some of the smallest yet most important creatures in our oceans.

A bright day in the fjords… but which zooplankton species are hiding beneath the surface? Metabarcoding might help us find out. Image credit: Lea Dober

– Luis