ECTS credits: 4
Course parameters:
Language: English
Level of course: PhD course (Masters can participate)
Time of year: 19th – 23rd October 2026
No. of contact hours/hours in total incl. preparation, assignment(s) or the like: 65
Capacity limits: 25
Course fee: 2000 DKK
Objectives of the course:
Environmental DNA (eDNA) is a powerful and rapidly advancing tool in ecological and conservation research. By analysing genetic material collected directly from environmental samples such as water, soil, sediment, and air, eDNA enables non‑invasive biodiversity monitoring, species detection, and ecosystem assessment across a wide range of environments.
This PhD school provides an introductory, interdisciplinary overview of eDNA methods and their applications in ecology, conservation biology, and environmental monitoring, with examples spanning freshwater, marine, terrestrial, airborne, and arctic ecosystems.
Key Topics:
Study design and sampling strategies for eDNA
Demonstration of eDNA sampling techniques in the field – water, soil, air!
Overview of Bioinformatics workflows and taxonomic assignment
Applied eDNA for biodiversity monitoring and ecosystem management
Strengths, limitations, and future directions of eDNA approaches
The course will comprise lectures, keynote presentations from leading eDNA researchers, practical (literature-based) group-exercises and presentations.
Learning outcomes and competences:
At the end of the course, the student should be able to:
Knowledge and understanding
Describe what eDNA is, how it can be used to answer a range of research questions in ecology and conservation and what the main strengths and weaknesses are.
Describe how eDNA methods are used today, both in research and by government and biomonitoring agencies, across aquatic and terrestrial habitats.
Account for the main methods, barcoding genes, reference platforms, primer pairs and PCR and sequencing technologies that can be used to target different groups of organisms.
At the end of the course, students will have a solid understanding of the molecular workflow and the required analysis choices to successfully plan an eDNA based scientific study.
Judgement and approach
Ability to judge whether a research question can be answered using eDNA techniques.
Critically evaluate published eDNA research.
Compulsory programme:
Participation in the programme requires considerable preparation and active engagement throughout the course. Prior to the five-day course, participants are expected to complete approximately 25 hours of asynchronous learning, including assigned reading, preparation of discussion materials, and completion of pre-course assignments.
The course itself comprises five days of synchronous learning activities, including lectures, seminars, discussion groups, keynote presentations, field demonstrations, and group-based project work."
Course contents:
Species assemblages are at the heart of ecology and conservation research. Scientific research in both fields centres around species habitat, reaction to anthropogenic or natural environmental change, interactions and how they spread. Among other questions, this includes studying the effect of climate change, evaluating the effect of agriculture and conservation measures or studying and monitoring invasive species. The fundamental problem is that many species and species groups are difficult to monitor because of their small size, their hidden lifestyle, their rarity or a combination of several or all of the factors above. In addition, many species cannot be readily identified without highly specialised taxonomic expertise and time-consuming morphological identification under the microscope. As a consequence, the vast majority of studies focus on a very small subset of species.
Species shed DNA actively and passively into the environment, e.g. through excretion or the shedding of cells, so-called environmental DNA or eDNA. Targeting eDNA we can today detect species or characterise whole communities simultaneously from a single sample of water, soil, or air. This method has the potential to revolutionise how we study single species or whole communities, from across the tree of life.
The aim of this course is to introduce eDNA based techniques to students in ecology and conservation, giving them an overview of the state of the field and a chance to discuss the degree to which eDNA based methods are the appropriate tool to answer their research questions.
Prerequisites:
None
Name of lecturers:
Georgina Lauren Brennan
Aoife Leonard
Adam Kozoil
Rumakanta Sapkota
Type of course/teaching methods:
The course is structured around lectures given by leading researchers and practitioners in the field. The lectures are chosen to present different aspects of eDNA research, both in terms of study system (aquatic, terrestrial, airborne, gut) and questions (detection of invasive species, biodiversity monitoring and species interaction networks (e.g. plant-pollinator and gut content analysis)). The lectures will present how eDNA techniques are used in government agencies today, to give a more practical perspective.
Seminars and discussion groups will be organised as problem-based learning where the students will discuss questions centred around articles provided before the lectures, followed by group discussions led by the course leaders. Here, the students will also be able to get feedback on their own projects, should they have concrete research ideas in mind. The articles will be provided before the start of the course and students will be expected to have read the articles before the start of the course.
Demonstration of eDNA collection will be organised on site so that participants can gain a hands-on experience of eDNA collection in the field (no lab work is involved).
Scope and preparation
Participation in the programme requires considerable preparation throughout the whole programme.
Before the five-day seminar, participants must expect a workload of about 25 hours to complete assignments.
Assessment
Assessment is based on course participation of the entire workshop, including lectures, discussion groups and a poster assignment that will be presented in groups on the final day.
Literature:
None
Course homepage:
None
Course assessment:
Poster assignment that will be presented in groups on the final day.
Provider:
Department of Ecoscience
Special comments on this course:
Supported by the Department of Environmental Sciences
Time: 9am-5pm 19th – 23rd October 2026
Place:
Aarhus University,
Risø, Frederiksborgvej 399
4000 Roskilde
Denmark
Course fee:
The course is free of charge for Danish PhD students. PhD students from outside of Denmark will pay a fee of 2000 DKK
Registration:
Please fill out the form: Environmental DNA (eDNA) methods in ecology and conservation. Deadline for registration is 31st August 2026. Information regarding admission will be sent out no later than Friday 4th September.
If you have any questions, please contact one of our coordinators:
Georgina Brennan (g.brennan@ecos.au.dk)
Aoife Leonard (aleonard@ecos.au.dk)
Adam Kozoil (adamkoziol@ecos.au.dk)
Rumakanta Sapkota (rs@envs.au.dk)
