GEANS aims to implement DNA-based tools in routine monitoring programs in collaboration with stakeholders in support of policy and decision-making concerning the ecosystem health in the North Sea Region. The use of joint DNA-based tools, could reduce the costs of legally binding monitoring by 40%, while assessment time may be reduced by 60%. To achieve those targets, GEANS comprises of six work packages each with its own individual goals. The first work package (WP1) structures and manages GEANS organizationally, financially and ensures a continuous workflow between the WPs and the Joint Secretariat. WP2 aims to synchronise with other initiatives, to promote use of DNA-based tools, to enhance stakeholder engagement during pilot studies, and to support project implementation in environmental health management. The third work package (WP3) aims to set-up of a reliable DNA sequence reference library corresponding to a taxonomically validated specimen collection. WP4 goal is the optimisation and standardisation of DNA-based field and lab protocols and tools. Within WP5 a set of pilot studies is organised in close collaboration with the stakeholders for implementing genetic protocols into existing environmental assessment and management. The pilot studies apply DNA-based methods in monitoring programs in the context of the European Natura 2000 guidelines and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, as well as for the detection of non-indigenous species. Finally, the sixth work package (WP6) aims to incorporate the outputs of WP3, WP4, and WP5 into a decision support framework to assist in choosing the correct protocols for real-time assessments and to translate scientific knowledge into clear and simple indicators and management products.

Prof. Pedro Martinez Arbizu (leading WP3), Prof. Ingrid Kröncke, Dr. Magdalini Christodoulou, Mrs. Kerstin Thaler and Mrs. Marie Elisabeth Kaufmann are representing Senckenberg within GEANS. Senckenberg coordinates the work package for the development of a reliable DNA barcode reference library for the benthic macrofauna of the North Sea Region for impact assessment and monitoring (WP3). Together with the other GEANS participants but also the stakeholders, a list of key North Sea species is produced for genetic characterisation numbering over 800 species of which more than 110 are non-indigenous species. A standardized field and lab work flow is followed in order to acquire the COI sequences and the accompanied metadata per specimen (e.g. photos, voucher code, locality, coordinates, date).

Furthermore, Senckenberg participates in WP5 with two study cases in the soft-bottom monitoring pilot and with one case in the Non-Indigenous Species monitoring pilot. Both pilots aim to compare morphological-based analysis with DNA-based analysis and whether they provide the same information and patterns that could be used for the ecosystem health assessment of the North Sea. The first case study of the soft-bottom monitoring pilot is a long-term sampling location near Norderney Island where Senckenberg has a 40year time series (part of SGN´s Long Term Ecological Research North Sea Benthos Observatory) and is one of the few long-term benthic study sites in the North Sea and the world. The second case study of the soft-bottom monitoring pilot takes place in collaboration with the Landesbetrieb für Küstenschutz Nationalpark und Meeresschutz Schleswig-Holstein and is a Marine Strategy Framework Directive monitoring location between Helgoland and Sylt. The case study in the Non-Indigenous Species pilot is located in JadeWeserPort in Wilhelmshaven, monitoring location for non-indigenous species in collaboration with the Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie.

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