Marine invertebrates are an important and dominant group associated with the outer continental shelf (OCS) habitat, often serving as sentinels to environmental change, both from measured impacts as well as restoration activities. They are integral components of the marine ecosystems BOEM is mandated to protect and manage during offshore energy and mineral activities. As such, effective, dependable, and accurate identification of invertebrate species is critical to reproducibility and consistency in OCS benthic research and biosurveillance. Collections are essential to BOEM as they provide indispensable raw material and reference points necessary for the Environmental Studies Program to conduct credible, high-quality, long-term scientific monitoring and fulfill its mandate for environmental stewardship. Collections, and their durability and comparative value, underpin the ability to establish baseline studies and monitoring activities that identify changes in environmental quality and productivity. To support the mission needs of BOEM and increase efficiencies, the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) curated specimens and conducted biomolecular efforts to provide a voucher-based repository for Environmental Studies Program (ESP) specimens and tissues. This study also increased the genomic coverage of invertebrates across the US Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), with emphasis on the OCS, to lay the foundation for adopting new, innovative, and scalable environmental DNA (eDNA) technologies. Over the last 5 years, the National Museum of Natural History’s Department of Invertebrate Zoology (NMNH-IZ) acquired 20,203 lots and catalogued nearly 20,000 specimens. DNA sequencing activities significantly increased taxonomic coverage across all US EEZ marine invertebrate phyla and genera. NMNH-IZ also expanded efforts to digitize voucher-based collections by adopting low-coverage genome sequencing (genome skimming) to recover whole mitochondrial genomes and nuclear ribosomal repeat regions for priority taxa, thereby generating a wider range of genetic markers for multi-marker approaches to monitor ocean life. Through reengagement with collecting partners and the continued growth of our collaborative network, NMNH-IZ substantially increased our genomic data output. A dedicated OCS invertebrate collection and molecular laboratory program has significantly improved the quality of BOEM’s ecosystem assessments by ensuring that collections and genomic data are publicly accessible, thereby advancing the ability to discover, describe, and survey species that support healthy marine environments. Furthermore, our work with advanced molecular technologies, such as genome skimming and eDNA metabarcoding, demonstrate that these approaches are cost-effective and powerful tools for biodiversity assessment and ecosystem monitoring. Continued investment in this program will sustain and strengthen core collections needed to inform effective policy decisions regarding energy resources in the US EEZ.

USD: $1,700,000

2020-06-01 → 2025-12-31