In 2023, WADER deployed Newcastle University student Jack Longsden to carry out a research project monitoring invasive species in the North Sea.  

This had three aims: 

1. Categorize the fouling communities of the north east region (These are groups of marine organisms that live on hard surfaces in coastal waters and include barnacles, mussels, bryozoans, and sponges.)
2. Identify the presence of marine INNS within the benthic (sea floor) communities in the WADER project area – both inside and outside the Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), using both visual and novel techniques such as eDNA.
3. Develop and test species-specific primers to identify marine INNS within the benthic communities. 

In February 2023, Jack set up SETL panels at nine locations at one-metre depth along a 103-mile section of the coast from St Abbs Marine Station to Hartlepool Marina. Each was fitted with TinyTag data loggers – sensors which record temperature every 30 minutes as well as salinity, Ph, conductivity and turbidity. Each month, Jack removed each panel from the water, collected samples and eDNA scrapes and took photographs. 

In the lab, he used:

– Environmental DNA technique (eDNA for short) on the collected scrapes to detect the presence of INNS at a microscopic level. eDNA is DNA that’s released into the water by plants and animals in a host of ways: from their skin, faeces, mucous, hair, eggs and sperm, or when they die. The presence of aquatic organisms can be detected even at very low concentrations using this qPCR (quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction) method. 

– Image analysis with computer software. Species were identified to the lowest taxonomic level possible, and abundance recorded. 

A new set of panels was deployed in 2024 and further data collection took place in the Summer of 2025. An additional set of panels will now be left in the water to investigate the resilience of established benthic communities against the presence of marine INNS.  Data will continue to be collected and modelled to identify emerging trends and inform management measures.  

The last primer is currently under development.  Six have so far been developed for the Rapid Response toolkit; three tested from the literature and three developed by the team.

3 x Tested:

• Crepidula fornicate,  Slipper limpet 
• Didemnum vexillum, The carpet sea squirt
• Austrominius modestus,  Barnacle

3 x Developed

• Undaria pinnatifida, Wakame
• Corella eumyota, Orange-tipped sea squirt
• Schizoporella japonica, Orange ripple bryozoan

2025 Update

During Summer 2025, WADER’s Newcastle University Interns interviewed stakeholders about their bio-security practices.  This culminated in a successful workshop where stakeholders expressed their enthusiasm to help develop a regional bio-security plan and increase communication and interpretation locally.  The work on vectors of transportation is ongoing and has recently been updated with brand new layers of information from the MMO, and scientific modelling is underway to predict future trends.  An app is also now in development. A final round of plates will be deployed in Feb 2026, the Toolkit is ready for further testing and three replication projects (across both UK and Europe) are planned.