Offshore Renewable Energy and Biodiversity

The United States is planning to install 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030. Offshore renewable energy development (ORED) is a critical component of global strategies to decarbonize the electricity sector and address the effects of climate change (U.S. Department of Energy, 2023a). However, placement and operation of ORED infrastructure is expected to alter the marine habitat for various fish and wildlife species. For example, new infrastructure and associated human activity offshore may overlap with animal migrations or foraging (Cook and others, 2018). The composition of biological communities can change, with species’ distribution shifts likely (Li and others, 2023). To avoid negative effects on fish and wildlife and their habitats, Federal agencies—including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Department of the Interior, the U.S. Department of Energy, as well as State agencies and others—need to understand how these developments may alter the marine environment and biodiversity. This information helps natural resource managers by supporting regulatory requirements and informing strategic resource management and conservation efforts. Efforts are underway to assess effects on species of conservation concern, which include species that have either demonstrated considerable decline in their populations, are naturally rare, or have a limited distribution.

eDNA in the Marine Environment

Federal and State agencies study and monitor natural resources offshore as part of their resource management practices. However, collecting biological monitoring data in ocean environments is challenging and costly owing to the natural diversity and complexity of marine communities (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 2017). Traces of genetic material (deoxyribonucleic acid [DNA] and ribonucleic acid [RNA]) from organisms, like fish, reptiles, and mammals, can be collected from the environment and analyzed to determine which species were likely present in sampled locations. Emerging technologies that integrate the collection of this environmental DNA (eDNA) and RNA (eRNA) (hereafter referred to as “eDNA”) with autonomous robotic samplers are being developed to enable critical insight about marine biodiversity from the relatively simple, fast, and inexpensive act of collecting a water sample, while reducing the need for expensive research vessels and personnel time (fig. 1). When eDNA sampling is automated with robots, comprehensive monitoring of genetic material from microbes to mammals can occur at a frequency and number of locations not otherwise feasible, providing the high resolution and more complete assessment of marine life needed for accurate monitoring. This allows scientists to track species in time and space to produce baseline genetic material information and assess potential changes in biodiversity.

Research and Development Needs

Like all emerging technologies, robotic eDNA sampling and data interpretation have unresolved knowledge gaps and limitations that must be overcome to realize the potential of eDNA as an effective biodiversity monitoring tool. Continued engineering advancements are needed in autonomous vehicles used for sampling to include eDNA collection at various water depths and for onboard processing. Key challenges with eDNA data interpretation include improving the accuracy of species identification from eDNA, linking eDNA observations to species presence at various sites that are sampled since eDNA can be transported away from its source organisms, determining where and when to deploy robotic eDNA samplers to optimize detections of multiple species of interest, and developing modeling approaches to detect changes in eDNA accurately and precisely over time and space.

eDNA Research and Development Roadmap

The USGS is uniquely positioned to leverage research and development (R&D) advances already achieved in their research programs to respond to these outstanding biodiversity monitoring needs for ORED. The USGS is a leader in the field of eDNA and has, among many additional topics, helped advance robotic eDNA samplers, has extensive experience working in the offshore environment, and has developed novel and actionable statistical methods and standards for monitoring applications (see sidebar 1, sidebar 2, and sidebar 3). The USGS is working with partners to respond to the R&D needs identified in this fact sheet and ensure alignment and coordination with the objectives of the national strategy on aquatic eDNA and associated implementation plans (Kelly and others, 2024). Advancing these key eDNA R&D needs is intended to result in better, faster, and less expensive use of robotic eDNA sampling for biodiversity monitoring applications and inform the development of new tools, like autonomous vehicles, onboard processing, and air eDNA sampling in conjunction with water sampling.

U.S. Geological Survey Expertise in eDNA Applicable to the Marine Environment

Key eDNA Research and Development Advances Needed for Offshore Renewable Energy Development Applications

Knowledge of the distribution of biological resources relative to ORED is critical to monitoring ocean health. eDNA offers a transformative tool to discover, map, monitor, and manage marine biodiversity and is a nimble and affordable environmental monitoring tool that could help streamline ORED assessments. Additional R&D investments are needed to facilitate the development of renewable energy resources. Similar to the advancements that satellite remote sensing provided for understanding and predicting weather and climate (Yang and others, 2013), eDNA can be a transformative technology for living resource monitoring.