Yuan Liu, Ph.D.

eDNA Program Leader, Fish Biologist

Education

Ph.D. School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University, 2012
M.S. Environmental Science Center, Xiamen University, China, 2004
B.S. Department of Oceanography, Xiamen University, China, 2001

Professional History

2024-present: Fish Biologist, NOAA Fisheries
2020-2024: Molecular Biologist, NOAA Fisheries/AIS Inc.
2015-2020: Biologist, NOAA Fisheries/Integrated Statistics Inc.
2013-2015: NRC Postdoctoral Fellow

Yuan is the lead of the environmental DNA (eDNA) program at NEFSC. Yuan's research can be compared to forensic science applied in marine ecosystems. Yuan uses DNA-based molecular techniques (DNA fingerprinting, Sanger Sequencing and Next Generation Sequencing) to examine community structure, biodiversity, and the interactions between aquatic organisms and their living environment. Yuan’s investigations include:

Using eDNA metabarcoding to complement existing methods for studying marine biodiversity and species distributional shifts under climate change and wind energy development.
Leveraging the power and sensitivity of eDNA technologies in habitat assessment. For instance, does artificial bottom structure such as aquaculture cages support different fish assemblages than natural bottom structure such as rock reefs?
Combining eDNA with other kinds of data (i.e., observational, passive and active acoustics) to increase the power of species detection and quantification to support management decisions.
Interpreting eDNA results from heavily degraded materials such as fecal matter and gut contents.
Expanding the application of eDNA technologies to studying organisms other than fish and marine mammals.