Smith-Root eDNA Autosampler tested in new USGS READI-Net study

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Smith-Root Staff
Thursday, November 21, 2024
Environmental DNA (eDNA) is biological material shed by all animals into their habitats during the processes of their daily lives. Scientists and resource managers are now using eDNA to detect the presence of important species in a specified area, all from simple water samples.

A new study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology illustrates how eDNA sampling robots can be used to help detect invasive fish, native trout, and rare freshwater mussel species. The authors found that the sampling robot allowed them to rapidly detect changes in target-species eDNA quantity in rivers, and “autosamples had similar detection rates to manual samples and obtained similar or greater eDNA quantities.” This effort was a proof-of-concept study for an early warning biomonitoring system.

Read the paper at ACS.

The work was conducted by USGS READ-Net (Rapid environmental DNA Assessment and Deployment Initiative & Network), whose purpose is to “accelerate the implementation of environmental DNA (eDNA) autonomous samplers as a best practice for the early detection of aquatic biological threats.”