Key points
- Bryan O’Malley, a benthic ecologist from Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida, leads research on benthic foraminifera and environmental DNA (eDNA) during campaign 7A.
- Researchers sift deep-sea sediment for benthic foraminifera, tiny armored amoebas used as bioindicators of ecological health in the abyssal plain.
- The eDNA work scope sequences organisms’ shed DNA entrained in the sediment to characterize the benthic community.
- Both datasets establish a pre-collector-test baseline that will be compared against post-test sampling to track changes over time.
