FishBase 2016: Irene Adrian-Kalchhauser
Channel: Fishbase Sweden
Date: 2016-12-13

Irene Adrian-Kalchhauser, Universität Basel, Switzerland, gave a lecture on "ADVANTAGES AND CHALLENGES OF ENVIRONMENTAL DNA ASSAYS IN MONITORING SPECIES DISTRIBUTION AND ABUNDANCE"

Abstract: A major task in environmental management is the monitoring of species occurrences and abundances. This is a challenging mission for species which live in habitats that are difficult to access, or for species which have a very remote lifestyle, or for species which are rare. In recent years, approaches involving environmental DNA have therefore gained increased attention. These assays detect organisms even when they are not physically present. Rather, the occurrence of a species is inferred from the DNA traces it has left behind, much like the presence of a person at a crime scene can be inferred from DNA traces in criminal investigations. Such assays have great potential in aquatic habitats, where the monitoring of species often requires special equipment and/or special training and/or catching (and thus harming) the organism of interest.  Round gobies are a species under surveillance in Europe and Northern America. They are invasive and are, in many areas, considered as competitors for native species. Also, they are feared to endanger ongoing renaturation and restocking programs of, for example, the salmon. Therefore, their whereabouts are of great interest to environmental managers. However, they are difficult to detect when they are rare, since they are small, hide in the sand and under stones, and do not react well to electrofishing, a technique commonly used to monitor freshwater habitats. In my presentation, I will provide an introduction to the round goby and to environmental DNA assays. I will outline the methodologies available and will then present an environmental DNA assay that allows to detect the presence of invasive gobies from water samples, without the need to actually catch or sight the fish. Most importantly, I will share some general learnings about the advantages and shortfalls of environmental DNA assays for monitoring purposes.