On 26 August 2026, GuardIAS organized the workshop “Bridging the knowing-doing gap: Advancing eDNA applications beyond presence/absence in aquatic invasion science and management” in Belfast, United Kingdom. Held as part of the 24th International Conference on Aquatic Invasive Species (ICAIS), the event was organized by Teun Everts, Rein Brys, and Laura Verbrugge.
The workshop brought together 30 international scientists and managers from over 17 countries. Five expert presentations, delivered by Eva Aylagas Martinez (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia), Kirstel Panksep (University of Tartu, Estonia), Quentin Mauvisseau (University of Oslo, Norway), Rein Brys (Research Institute for Nature and Forest, Belgium), and Hanna Hartikainen (University of Nottingham, United Kingdom), covered key themes including national biosecurity frameworks, real-world methodological constraints, population abundance estimation, and host-pathogen interactions. Building on these talks, participants explored how environmental DNA (eDNA) can move beyond simple presence/absence detection to directly inform invasive species control.
Through interactive live polling and collaborative breakout sessions, participants conducted a comprehensive SWOT analysis to evaluate the implementation of eDNA tools based on their perceived Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT). Marking a major milestone for the GuardIAS project, the insights gathered from this workshop will lay the foundation for an upcoming global survey launching this winter targeting both eDNA experts as well as end-users in biological invasion contexts, to assess what is needed to close the knowing-doing gap related to the use of eDNA in aquatic biological invasion contexts.
