New Marine Institute-Funded Project “MariBiome”

A new €1.5 million research initiative, MariBiome, officially launches with funding from the Marine Institute, led by Professor Fiona Regan, Director of the DCU Water Institute, A new €1.5 million research initiative, MariBiome, officially launches today with funding from the Marine Institute. The five-year project will transform how Ireland measures and monitors the changing health of its marine ecosystems through the development of innovative biological sensing tools, rapid testing methods, and next-generation data integration frameworks.

As marine activities intensify and climate change accelerates, understanding and protecting Ireland’s ocean biodiversity is more critical than ever. MariBiome responds directly to this need, focusing on deploying cutting-edge technologies and generating vital baseline data to support sustainable marine management and policy.

Led by Professor Fiona Regan, Director of the DCU Water Institute, the project brings together an interdisciplinary team of researchers from across Ireland and Northern Ireland. Partners include Professor Anne Parle-McDermott (DCU), Professor Paulo Prodohl (Queen’s University Belfast), Dr. Dinesh Babu Duraibabu (ATU Sligo), and Professor Gerard Dooly (University of Limerick).

“Ireland’s marine environment is a national asset – culturally, economically, and ecologically. With MariBiome, we are investing in the science and technology needed to protect that asset for future generations. This project will give us the tools to monitor our seas in smarter, more sustainable ways and will help create a new generation of marine scientists equipped to carry that mission forward,” said Professor Fiona Regan, DCU Water Institute and MariBiome Project Coordinator.

Project Objectives:

Over its five-year timeline (July 2025 – June 2030), MariBiome will:

•          Establish a comprehensive baseline of marine biodiversity around Ireland using advanced metagenomic techniques;

•          Develop and deploy a cost-effective, autonomous marine sensing platform;

•          Identify key biological indicators for assessing ecosystem health, including in relation to Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), harmful algal blooms (HABs), and bathing water quality;

•          Create rapid, field-deployable eDNA tests for critical marine indicators;

•          Design a modular marine sampling unit for eDNA, microplastics, and chemical contaminants;

•          Integrate new and existing datasets into accessible monitoring platforms;

•          Deliver protocols for assessing the impacts of marine activity on biodiversity and ecosystems.

Next-Generation Marine Scientists

As part of its commitment to building national capacity, MariBiome will recruit five new PhD students, creating a vibrant research environment and training the next generation of marine scientists. These early-stage researchers will play a central role in delivering the project’s scientific goals while developing expertise in marine genomics, sensor technology, environmental modelling, and data science.

Expected Outcomes:

By 2030, MariBiome will deliver:

•          A new national biodiversity baseline dataset;

•          Custom-developed eDNA assays for marine health monitoring;

•          A marine monitoring platform integrating sensor and sampling capabilities;

•          A list of ecological indicators for environmental assessments;

•          A robust dataset from demonstration sites across Ireland’s coastal waters;

•          Increased national capacity and expertise in low-impact, next-generation marine monitoring;

•          A cohort of highly skilled marine researchers ready to support Ireland’s marine and environmental ambitions.

The MariBiome Project is carried out with the support of the Marine Institute under the Marine Research Programme, and funded by the Government of Ireland.

ENDS