Turtle trackers: Environmental DNA used to detect rare species
Ethan Kessler, a doctoral student at the University of Illinois has been utilising a new scientific technique to detect the presence of rare or elusive turtle species.
He and his collaborators are testing the use of environmental DNA (eDNA) to detect alligator snapping turtles (Macrochelys temminckii) in the southern Illinois river system.
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Photo from Seth LeGrange.
Excellent article! Interested in how effective it is with terrestrial species such as box turtles. This could be an excellent tool in locating turtles for removal from industrial areas. Not sure the price comparison to tracking dogs but it would at least allow proof of their presence to allow time for collection. We have a huge interstate system going in and this could help narrow down the areas to search and save many.
Very interesting!
Definitely, I’ve used this method for species detection before and it really can be quite sensitive when detecting species. You can typically use it two ways: 1) non-targeted approach, where you just look at all of the DNA captured in your eDNA sample or 2) targeted approach, if you know what you want to look for you can design sort of genetic tags which can identify your target species in your collected eDNA samples. I’ve only ever used it for aquatic species, as DNA is more easily dispersed throughout the environment, but yes would be very interesting to see how well it worked for more terrestrial species! Really is a great tool for very elusive or rare species! Thank-you for commenting!