For decades, scientists have relied on visual and aerial surveys to monitor marine
哺乳动物种群. The process is costly and time-consuming, with surveys conducted
受天气的支配. Now, a professor at 杰克逊维尔大学'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毫无, associate professor of marine science, has been awarded a $60,000 grant by the Marine Mammal 委员会 (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. 不全的 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. MMC的 small grant program supports projects that align with its conservation and protection 目标.
Although she felt strongly about her proposal’s potential, Dr. 曼西亚很吃惊 得知她收到了资助. “It’s not the first time I like my ideas, and 这是一项竞争非常激烈的资助.”
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. 这个方法 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. 另一方面，RNA， is typically single-stranded and plays a key role in protein synthesis and gene expression.
Dr. 不全 explained that her technique could potentially revolutionize monitoring 领域标准. “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. 第一步包括识别
the species present in selected locations along the St. 约翰河和量化
their RNA to combine recurrence and distribution data to environmental changes in
parameters that may affect food viability and shift in distribution. 第二步
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
监控程序. 
Dr. 不全 is collaborating with Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, Connecticut, where the protocol will be tested in a controlled environment to ensure accuracy. 尽管数据 analysis will be performed at 杰克逊维尔大学, the RNA sequencing will take 他在康涅狄格大学获得了一个学位.
Set to begin immediately, the project will take several months to fully set up, with 采样预计将于今年冬天开始. The initial tests will be conducted alongside 视觉调查来验证新方法.
Graduate student Francesca Vasic, whose Master’s thesis work is part of this larger 项目，将协助研究. 此外，从博士研究生. 不全的 former institution, the University of Ferrara, in Italy, is also expected to join 团队工作了六个月.
Dr. 不全 has been using genomics to study dolphins for more than 16 years. 她加入了 杰克逊维尔大学’s Marine Science Research Institute in the fall of 2023, relocating 来自她的祖国意大利. She has quickly immersed herself in the local marine science 社区，与博士一起工作. Gerry Pinto, Associate Research Scientist at Jacksonville 在圣. 约翰河.
The project's success could mark a significant advancement in marine mammal monitoring, providing a model for future conservation efforts. 虽然技术会 tested on a species that is abundant in the St. 约翰河，他们最终可以 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. 不全.
