MSRI professor’s RNA monitoring project receives $60,000 grant from Marine Mammal Commission

For decades, scientists have relied on visual and aerial surveys to monitor marine mammal populations. The process is costly and time-consuming, with surveys conducted at the mercy of the weather. Now, a professor at Jacksonville University's Marine Science Research Institute is working to show there are more rigorous and efficient methods that could become the standard in the future.

Dr. Annalaura Mancia, associate professor of marine science, has been awarded a $60,000 grant by the Marine Mammal Commission (MMC) to fund a research project that will attempt to use RNA found in the water to monitor local dolphin populations and shifts in their distribution associated to climate change. Dr. Mancia's proposal was one of only seven to be funded this year by the MMC.

The MMC, established by the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) in 1972, plays a crucial role in promoting the conservation of marine mammals and their habitats. The MMC's small grant program supports projects that align with its conservation and protection goals.

Although she felt strongly about her proposal's potential, Dr. Mancia was surprised to learn she had received the funding. "It's not the first time I like my ideas, and this is a very competitive grant."

The proposal aims to determine whether RNA shed into the water by marine mammals can be used to identify their presence and abundance in a given location. This method holds an advantage over DNA analysis, because RNA is more abundant and reflects only the presence of living, physiologically active organisms.

DNA and RNA are both nucleic acids, but they serve different roles in the cell. DNA contains the genetic blueprint for an organism, storing and transmitting hereditary information, and is composed of a double helix structure. RNA, on the other hand, is typically single-stranded and plays a key role in protein synthesis and gene expression.

Dr. Mancia explained that her technique could potentially revolutionize monitoring standards in the field. "Traditional monitoring techniques for marine mammals, which we have done and continue to do at JU, are: You go out on the boat and do surveys. So, you need people, the boat, pictures, videos, then you have to be lucky to find them, you have to have the money for fuel, you have to be lucky with the weather. The idea was to try and develop a method to monitor the presence and distribution of marine mammals that was not invasive, that didn't require we go out and find them."

The research will be conducted in two primary stages. The first step involves identifying the species present in selected locations along the St. Johns River and quantifying their RNA to combine recurrence and distribution data to environmental changes in parameters that may affect food viability and shift in distribution. The second step focuses on the detection of mixed population/ species in the estuarine sampling site with a final goal of releasing the method and implementing it in current marine mammal monitoring programs.

Dr. Mancia is collaborating with Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, Connecticut, where the protocol will be tested in a controlled environment to ensure accuracy. While data analysis will be performed at Jacksonville University, the RNA sequencing will take place at the University of Connecticut.

Set to begin immediately, the project will take several months to fully set up, with sampling expected to begin this winter. The initial tests will be conducted alongside visual surveys to validate the new method.

Graduate student Francesca Vasic, whose Master's thesis work is part of this larger project, will assist in the research. Additionally, a PhD student from Dr. Mancia's former institution, the University of Ferrara, in Italy, is also expected to join the team for six months.

Dr. Mancia has been using genomics to study dolphins for more than 16 years. She joined Jacksonville University's Marine Science Research Institute in the fall of 2023, relocating from her native Italy. She has quickly immersed herself in the local marine science community, working alongside Dr. Gerry Pinto, Associate Research Scientist at Jacksonville University, on dolphin surveys in the St. Johns River.

The project's success could mark a significant advancement in marine mammal monitoring, providing a model for future conservation efforts. Although the techniques will be tested on a species that is abundant in the St. Johns River, they could eventually be applied to monitor endangered marine mammals around the globe.

"If it works, it will change how things will be done in the future," said Dr. Mancia.

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