Species identification is one of the main bottlenecks in environmental licensing and monitoring processes. We only know a fraction of the species that exist and there aren’t enough taxonomists in the world capable of identifying all of them.
All species have DNA, so it’s only natural that we use DNA to identify all of them. Using the sequences of molecular markers such as COI and rRNA12S present in the extracellular DNA found in the environment, we baseline the biodiversity of rivers, lakes, reservoirs and coastal zones.