Rockefeller University

Program for the Human Environment

Talks and Podcasts

Items related to talks Jesse Ausubel has given or will be giving in the near future.

Mark & Jesse present NOAA ‘Omics seminar on eDNA abundance

Mark Stoeckle and Jesse Ausubel presented in the  NOAA ‘Omics Seminar Series on Marine fish eDNA Metabarcoding: Promising Developments and Early Applications.  The outline:

–eDNA abundance matters (relevant to detection, quantification, field design, laboratory protocols)

–Adding internal standard to metabarcoding PCRs quantifies eDNA (converts relative sequence reads to absolute eDNA copies)

–Current marine fish metabarcoding protocols ready for wider use (reasonably accurate index of fish abundance, especially for more abundant species)

–eDNA metabarcoding can overcome information hurdles for ecosystem-based management

A  recording is here , 40-minute presentation and 20-minute Q&A. Thanks to NOAA’s Katharine Egan and Nicole Miller.

Andy Marshall Foundation seminar on experimentation, intellectual courage and mentorship

For its 2021 Annual Review, the Andrew W. Marshall Foundation presented an hour-long seminar in which Jesse Ausubel speaks briefly on experimentation, Melissa Flagg on intellectual courage, and Dan Patt on mentorship, followed by Q&A. IGood session. Jesse’s 5 minutes of remarks, titled Don’t Do Anything for the First Time, begin 15 minutes into the session following Jaymie Durnan’s opening review.

Video of Wrap-up of Clean Ocean webinar

For a global overview of marine pollution in 90 minutes, watch the lively Wrap-up session of the 17-19 November UN Ocean Decade “Clean Ocean” webinar Jesse co-moderated.  Co-moderator begins the program and Jesse joins after about 4 minutes 30 seconds.

The Clean Ocean Manifesto and Press Release are here.  The “Clean Ocean” initiative is one of the 7 components of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.

Photos below show the Berlin production studio for the webinar.

Mark and Jesse give NOAA ‘Omics seminar on “Fishing for DNA”

Thanks to Tracy Gill and Katharine Egan, Mark Stoeckle and Jesse Ausubel gave a NOAA-wide “Omics” seminar. 29 October 2021. Title and abstract are below.  View the recording of the webinar via Adobe Connect, here: https://noaabroadcast.adobeconnect.com/pnnos0mcsh3z/ Thanks to the attendees for lotss of great questions and the lively to-and-fro in the Chat Box.

Title: Fishing for DNA: how much water to catch and other questions

Abstract: Measuring quantities of eDNA is fast becoming a preferred method of learning the presence and abundance of fish and other aquatic species. But how much water need one filter and how much DNA need one process to obtain a reasonably complete and reproducible answer? Tests of an eDNA metabarcoding protocol for marine bony fish show more water, more species of fish up to levels tested. Amplifying decreasing amounts of extracted DNA yields progressively fewer species. Species represented by more copies (reads) of their DNA are detected more reproducibly and with less variation than lower-read species. Findings are consistent with Poisson distribution of rarer eDNA. We also vary PCR cycles, sequencing depth, primer concentrations, and primers. Our findings have multiple practical implications, including for survey strategies for both common and rare species, and identify some limits of knowledge and research directions for aquatic eDNA science.

NOAA Science Seminar page

NOAA ‘Omics Website

Podcast with Jesse Ausubel

Jesse reflects on decarbonization, dematerialization, land-sparing, industrial ecology, industrialization of the oceans, biological traces of fishes and of Leonardo Da Vinci, and the Seven Deadly Sins in an 83″ podcast with Robert Bryce, author of Smaller Faster Lighter Denser Cheaper: and A Question of Power: Electricity and the Wealth of Nations.

The Podcast is also on YouTube where you get to see who sings Take Me Out to the Ballgame.

1-hour video about Ocean Decade

24 March 2021 Jesse Ausubel formed part of a lively 70-minute panel discussion on Oceans with:

Ms. Maya Gabeira, Big Wave Surfer, 2X World Record Holder, Oceana Ambassador

Mr. Romain Troublé, Director-General, Tara Foundation

Mr. David Eades, Chief Presenter, BBC TV News, Moderator 1

Ms. Taylor Goelz, Program Manager, Shipping Decarbonization Initiative, Aspen Institute | Member, Ocean Decade Early Career Ocean Professional Informal Working Group, Moderator 2

The full 4’42” video of the UNESCO Forum on Biodiversity: On the road to Kunming is here on YouTube.

The Ocean session starts at 1:57 and lasts to 3:09. Jesse’s opening remarks (about better measurement of abundance of ocean life) start at 2:07 (3 minutes) and his pitch for soundscapes is at 2:41:35 (1.5 minutes).  The entire session is good listening (and some video too).

Retrospective on the Census of Marine Life

The Consortium for Ocean Leadership (COL) hosted a virtual symposium entitled Observing Life in a Changing Ocean: Exploring a ‘Census of Marine Life’ Today, on January 27, 2021.

The Census of Marine Life was an international program of discovery of life in the ocean, from microbes to whales and from coral reefs to abyssal plains. The Census ran from 2000-2010 and was a model for building collaboration and a global baseline of knowledge of marine diversity, distribution, and abundance.  COL convened the symposium to highlight the need and generate excitement for a sustained, collaborative, and systematic program in marine biodiversity research and observation.  Jesse Ausubel gave an opening 25-minute retrospective on the program beginning 5 minutes 40 seconds into the video.