tag:dreamwidth.org,2018-12-04:3452007 lupin5th lupin5th 2019-09-01T13:20:04Z tag:dreamwidth.org,2018-12-04:3452007:202016 2019-09-01T13:20:04Z 2019-09-01T13:20:04Z public 0 via <a href="https://ift.tt/2NLoeys">https://ift.tt/2NLoeys</a><br /><br />mudmossmolly:<br /><br />A northern dusky salamander (Desmognathus fuscus) posing for us during a salamander survey in a West Virginia stream. We took these photos on the last day of my internship in the genomics lab, where I was studying eDNA, or environmental DNA, a new science that has only just begun to truly take hold in conservation in the last decade!<br /><br />eDNA can be extracted from many sources, including soil, water (even snow!), and even scat (poop!). <br /><br />Why do we use eDNA? In this case, some species of aquatic (water-dwelling) animals are extremely cryptic, or hard to find.<br /><br />By taking a sample of water, soil, etc. and matching eDNA within it to a known species, we can detect and confirm presence of that species without ever seeing the animal.<br /><br />Imagine a river we think would make a good habitat for a species of concern, but murky conditions, pollution, traffic, protections, etc. make it too dangerous or inaccessible to do a full survey. We might use eDNA to confirm the presence of that species with water alone! It’s a very cool science.<br /><br />We can also use eDNA from scat to determine the diet of an animal.<br /><br />eDNA is also a noninvasive (meaning we don’t directly handle or disturb the animal) way of surveying.<br /><br />In my lab, we were doing experiments that were actually focused on determining how accurate eDNA identification is for specific species of salamanders, in order to hopefully defend using it for future population studies.<br /><br />I’m super grateful I got to learn so much about eDNA and genomics in general this summer!<br /><br />Here is a bit more reading on it if you’re interested!<br /><br />And here is another project, including a guide on how to collect it, that seems to be using volunteer efforts to compile local eDNA data—very cool!<br /><br />🌿🍄Follow My Field Journal!🍄🌿<br /><img src="https://lupin5th.dreamwidth.org/file/202018.jpg" /><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=lupin5th&ditemid=202016" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> comments