This is part of the series of contributions from previous community meetings that we release weekly.
We leave out the discussion and Q&A sections that follow each presentation to preserve the privacy and informality of our community meetings.
To join all of that, you have to be an iBOL Europe member. You can become one here: https://tally.so/r/WOMVgk

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

1) Explain what eDNA is under current conceptual frameworks

2) Understand how DNA enters, moves through and degrades in environmental media such as water, soil, sediment and air;

3) Understand eDNA metabarcoding and its workflows, including relevant standards and standards frameworks (e.g. TRLs) and eDNA metabarcoding applications;

4) Understand why these processes shape what eDNA metabarcoding data represents in space and time. This includes understanding the difference between metabarcoding and other analyses of eDNA so participants can pick the right approach for specific applications.

Programme

Note that there is time for questions/discussions after each module, short breaks between sessions and a 30-minute lunch break each day.

Day 1, December 8, 09:00 – 13:45 (CET):

• Module 1 (Optional for participants with limited background knowledge in biology) – Life, cells, DNA in organisms and in the environment. 40 minutes (09:00 – 09:50)
• Module 2 – What is eDNA, bulk samples vs environmental media, and what do we know about its lifecycle in freshwater, marine and terrestrial environmental media. 1.5 hours (10:00 – 11:45)
• Module 3 – How is eDNA collected and analysed: Standards, principles and practices. 1 hour (12:30 – 13:45)

Day 2, December 9, 09:00 – 14:00 (CET):

• Module 4 – State of the art for selected eDNA metabarcoding applications: freshwater, marine and terrestrial ecosystems. 1.5 hours (09:00 – 10:45)
• Module 5 – Engagement of service providers, workflows, what to ask and quality assurance/ quality control. 40 minutes (11:00 – 11:50)
• Module 6 – Interpreting eDNA metabarcoding data. 1.5 hours (12:15 – 14:00)

 Instructors

Glenn Dunshea, Researcher, NTNU University Museum, Trondheim, Norway

Stefaniya Kamenova, Researcher, National Museum of Natural History, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences

Torbjørn Ekrem, Professor, NTNU University Museum, Trondheim, Norway

Admission and applications

To ensure sufficient ability for engagement with participants, the course will be limited to 20 participants. Preference will be given to applicants with affiliation to policy and industry.

Application deadline

20 November 2026

Photo by Kimberly Farmer on Unsplash

The paper was published in September 2025, and Carolina presented it at our Community Meeting in the same month.

This is part of the series of contributions from previous community meetings that we release weekly.
We leave out the discussion and Q&A sections that follow each presentation to preserve the privacy and informality of our community meetings.
To join all of that, you have to be an iBOL Europe member. You can become one here: https://tally.so/r/WOMVgk

This is part of the series of contributions from previous community meetings that we release weekly.
We leave out the discussion and Q&A sections that follow each presentation to preserve the privacy and informality of our community meetings.
To join all of that, you have to be an iBOL Europe member. You can become one here: https://tally.so/r/WOMVgk

We started the meeting with Nikolaus Szucsich (Natural History Museum of Vienna), who shared insights into the organisational, infrastructural, and scientific developments of ABOL – the Austrian Barcode of Life – over its (more than) ten-year lifespan, as described in this recent paper.

Afterwards, Robert Waterhouse (Swiss Bioinformatics Institute) introduced us to CONSENSA, the COST Action focusing on Consensus Standards for Applied Biodiversity Genomics – which also starts this month.

We also shared the latest news about DNABARDIV, as we were fresh from its first MC meeting. Emily Hartop (NTNU) shared some updates on OPENBAR.

Our Community Meetings are free and open to all iBOL Europe members to join. You can join our community here – that’s also free!

“Fucus vesiculosus seaweed on the coastal rocks by Lyngen Fjord” by Ximonic (Simo Räsänen) on Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA.

Sampling specimens for DNA barcode reference generation requires careful metadata collection, high-quality photographic documentation, and a laboratory workflow designed to minimise contamination. These elements are essential to ensure reference sequences are reliable, reproducible, and scientifically valuable.

In this online course, participants will learn the complete workflow for generating high-quality DNA barcode reference material. They will follow best practices for specimen handling and preservation in the field, including strategies to maintain DNA integrity and ensure traceability. The course covers how to accurately record and manage specimen metadata, as well as how to produce standardised, publication-quality images that support taxonomic identification. Participants will also learn laboratory considerations for handling specimens and sampling tissue in ways that reduce contamination risk. The last part of this training will focus on organising and preparing data for submission to the Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD), including metadata, images, and specimen records, as well as managing tissue collections for downstream molecular analysis.

The maximum number of participants is 20. In case of more applicants, participants will be selected based on the scientific, educational and/or professional merit, motivation and usefulness of the course for the applicants. Results of the selection process will be announced via e-mail shortly after the application deadline.

Learning outcomes 

By the end of the course, participants will clearly understand the practical and logistical steps required to build robust DNA barcode reference libraries on BOLD, from field collection to data submission. This includes:

• Preservation preferences for animal, plant and fungal tissue/specimens
• Long-term storage for DNA barcode reference vouchers
• Registration of metadata in standardised spreadsheets and upload to BOLD
• Photographic requirements and procedures for (bulk) image upload to BOLD
• Procedures for sequence QC and upload of sequence data to BOLD

Target group/Audience

PhD students and researchers who will use BOLD as a workbench for their DNA barcodes and other sequence data. 

Language

English

Teachers  

Torbjørn Ekrem – Professor, Department of Natural History, NTNU University Museum, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway

Tomasz Mamos – Associate Professor, Department of Invertebrate Zoology and Hydrobiology, University of Lodz, Poland

Sónia Ferreira – Researcher, BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning; CIBIO, Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, InBIO Associate Laboratory, Portugal https://www.cibio.up.pt/en/people/details/sonia-ferreira/

Elisabeth Stur – Researcher, Department of Natural History, NTNU University Museum, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway

MEDFORGEN is an EFI regional initiative that works with 10 countries across the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean to conserve and strengthen the genetic diversity of Mediterranean forests, ultimately improving their ability to adapt to increasing climate pressures.

This is part of the series of contributions from previous community meetings that we release weekly.
We leave out the discussion and Q&A sections that follow each presentation to preserve the privacy and informality of our community meetings.
To join all of that, you have to be an iBOL Europe member. You can become one here: https://tally.so/r/WOMVgk

BGE+ is the Horizon Europe-funded project scaling up the use of genomics to enhance understanding of biodiversity and guide interventions to address its decline.

This is part of the series of contributions from previous community meetings that we release once per week. 

In the past years, we’ve had a fair number of contributions on initiatives, developments and updates related to DNA barcoding in Europe, which are surely of interest to the broader community.

We leave out the discussion and Q&A sections that follow each presentation to preserve the privacy and informality of our community meetings. To join all of that, you have to be an iBOL Europe member. You can do that here: https://tally.so/r/WOMVgk 

For more information about OPENBAR and related initiatives, you can contact Emily Hartop (NTNU).

In this initial phase of OPENBAR, BGE+ partners are running a survey to get an overview of user needs for scaling up distributed DNA (meta) barcoding in Europe and will host the OPENBAR Forum (online) on 15 September – you can register here.

We will report on OPENBAR initiatives regularly.